rr. , ; ' : :'/ / . : .:,:/ for International Peace DIVISION OF K:O; LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA EDITOR'S PREFACE The subject of this monograph is one of wide public interest. Perhaps no one subject connected with the war, aside from those having immediately to do with direct military operations, has aroused a greater interest in the minds of the public than have changes induced in the labor situation. The editor requested Professor Hammond to take up the subject, believing that his years of study of labor questions, and his familiarity with inno- vations in Australia and elsewhere, would enable him more quickly to understand and more justly to appreciate the impor- tance of such radical changes as the war induced in the condi- tions of employment and life of the workers of the world. His treatment has justified this confidence. Aside from contributing to our information on the condition of labor in the war, Professor Hammond's discussion will help the public to juster conclusions on many matters commonly described as a dispute between labor and capital, though more correctly described as between the systems of economic liberal- ism and social control of capital. Many of the critics of eco- nomic liberalism seem to show by their comments that their familiarity with the doctrines of liberalism are second hand. As in their theology they are presbyterians, perhaps, because their fathers and mothers were, so they are solidarists and critics of liberalism because their teachers were so. They bitterly assail Ricardianism, but have never read Ricardo. Many of the prophets fail to see, or seeing fail to admit, that the aim of the individual system of economic philosophy is precisely the same as that of the system of so-called social solidarity, the improve- ment of the economic life of the individual human being. Eco- nomic liberalism, as a system, has contributed, as shown by men like Hermann Levy, very largely to the progress of humanity. Its adherents, like those of the " new " social philosophy, believe that the earth belongs to us all. It bade each 'of us to go in and IV EDITOR S PREFACE get his share in the belief, which was more or less justified under conditions of a century ago, that each would be able to get his share. Now that the field of competition is more crowded, and, therefore, men must jostle one another in the race, more complex " rules of the game " must be laid down. We can not now assume that each will get his share by his own strength. We must find some means of assuring him a share proportional in equity to his contribution to the general welfare. We are bound, moreover, to inquire into the legitimacy of unusual gains by individuals and to take such measures as are necessary to prevent the exploitation of one by another. Yet these necessities of the situation involve no new social, juridical, or philosophical principles. That private property is a public trust is a thought imbedded in the juridical system of the English-speaking peoples; that the community can compel the observance of this principle is a fact that has always been recog- nized among those peoples. Sometimes they have thought that a minimum of intervention secured the end. At other times, among them the present time, they have thought a maximum of intervention necessary. But the aim and the principle have been the same. We need to remember this in these days when so many proposals of social reconstruction, not well thought out and not logically coherent, are being foisted on the public attention. Professor Hammond's study shows that in the attempt to secure that welfare of the worker which has been the common aim of liberalism, as well as of other social systems, the existing conditions of industry justify, and, indeed, necessitate, a more complex regulation of the relations between the employer and the employed, a better protection of the economically weak, a renewed insistence on the principle that the welfare of each is in a true sense the business of all. The study shows that some of the measures necessary are a greater coordination of the efforts of the worker and the employer, and greater efficiency on the part of both, leading permanently to the higher wages necessary for better living conditions. We are familiar with such proposals. The duty as well as the self-interest of the EDITOR S PREFACE V public, which after all is simply the whole number of us or the majority of us in certain relations, makes necessary insistence on the provision of better physical conditions of living, better moral surroundings, wider educational opportunities, and a wider and deeper sense of mutual obligation. It is hopeless to think that these ends can be largely or permanently attained through the exercise of force by any one class over another. The lasting solution lies in the acceptance of better moral standards which lead us to recognize our mutual duties and to make our self-interest more enlightened. I commend Professor Hammond's work to the earnest con- sideration of all students of the subject. DAVID KINLEY, Editor. Urbana, Illinois, February 19, 1919. FOREWORD The publishers of this series of studies have wisely emphasized their preliminary character. To record the important happenings in a great war and to attempt to show the causal connection of these events while the war is still in progress means that, inevita- bly, the writer will mistake the significance of certain events and either magnify or minimize their importance. I have sought to avoid this, as far as possible, by making my account a narration rather than an interpretation. A critical account of the labor situation and administration in Great Britain during the war must await the pen of some future historian. Even as regards the accuracy of some of the statements in the following pages, I may not speak with assurance, although I have used official material, wherever possible, and have otherwise used the best information available. I have received generous assistance from manv persons in the course of the preparation of the monograph, but I am especially indebted to Mr. Hugh S. Hanna, now Assistant Secretary of the War Labor Board, but formerly engaged in editorial work for the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, and who, during the early stages of this monograph, was keeping in close touch with English labor movements and legislation. I am also indebted to Miss Laura A. Thompson, Librarian of the Department of Labor, who has not only supplied me with material but with information as to where it was to be found. M. B. HAMMOND. United States Food Administration, November 1, 1918. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I The Social Background 3 II English Industry and Labor at the Outbreak of the War 22 III Industrial Panic and Readjustment 32 IV The Government and the Trade Unions 68 V The Munitions of War Acts 86 VI The Supply and Distribution of Labor 113 VII The Dilution of Labor 140 VIII Wages, Cost of Living, Hours of Labor, Welfare Work and Unemployment 185 IX Industrial Unrest 230 X Industrial Reconstruction 269 Index 329 CHAPTER I The Social Background The coming into power of the Liberal government in 1905 marks for England the beginning of a new era not only in politics but in social legislation. For a decade or more there had been signs of industrial unrest and of a growing discontent among the working classes. In spite of the wonderful expansion of industry and of trade during the preceding half century, and of an enormous increase of wealth whose rate of growth far exceeded that of the population, it can not be said that this pros- perity had been shared by all classes or that either Parliament or party leaders showed any marked disposition to favor measures which tended to promote a better distribution of wealth or to raise the standard of living of the working classes. Imperialism, home rule, colonial federation and fiscal reforms were the ques- tions which chiefly occupied the attention of the politicians, and even Mr. Chamberlain's advocacy of old age pensions was coupled with, and subordinated to, his desire to secure a protec- tive tariff. The struggle to secure factory legislation which had marked the first half of the nineteenth century found no counterpart dur- ing the second half, although the laws themselves were codified and improved in details. The legislative movement in behalf of shorter hours had apparently come to an end, and such later progress as had been made in that direction had come mainly through the trade unions. The trade unions themselves had made continuous, if not steady, progress and in certain lines of industry had succeeded in securing for their members good wages and working conditions, but their influence was confined for the most part to the skilled trades and even in these trades their progress was by no means 3 4 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION uniform. Among unskilled laborers low wages and irregularity of employment created a situation which bordered close upon dependency. The careful studies made by men like Charles Booth and B. S. Rowntree showed that in the larger English cities there was a considerable percentage of the population living close to the pauper line. Pauperism itself, while it showed a decline in most years, had been characterized by a rapidly dimin- ishing rate of decrease in later years, in spite of a rapid increase of public expenditures for poor relief. The report of the Poor Law Commission published in 1909 said : " the country is main- taining a multitude of paupers not far short of the number main- tained in 1871-72, and is spending more than double the amount upon each individual." Recognition of these tendencies had begun to create uneasiness in both the leading political parties even prior to the incoming of the Liberal government in 1905, but neither the Liberals under Gladstone nor the Conservatives under Salisbury and Balfour were ready to propose any very radical changes in the way of social legislation. Even of the changes proposed by the Balfour government in 1905, only one the Unemployed Workmen Bill secured parliamentary approval, and that in a form which left little hope of its practical success. Meanwhile a new party (Labor) was being formed, composed of representatives of the trade unions and of the socialist socie- ties, and this party succeeded at the election of 1906 in electing 29 members of Parliament from its own nominees, besides 24 others who were more or less identified with the labor movement. These added to 378 Liberals elected at the same time and pledged to labor reforms created a strong majority in the Commons in favor of the Liberal-Labor measures and left little doubt that the Parliament which assembled in 1906 would carry out a pro- gram of social reform of a far reaching character. What some of these reforms would be had already been indicated in the course of the campaign and in the resolutions adopted by political and labor bodies, but more substantial arguments were furnished for some of them, and the necessity of other reforms made evi- dent, by the investigations and report of the Poor Law Commis- THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 5 sion, which was appointed in December, 1905, and which com- pleted its work early in 1909. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE POOR LAW COMMISSION Much of the work of the commission had to do with the history and administration of the existing poor laws, with sta- tistics of the numbers, ages and distribution of paupers, with the costs of relief and with the work of private charities, but here and there in the report and the appendices are discussions of the causes of pauperism, which show that much of the prevalent pov- erty and distress was due to the social environment in which the laboring classes were living and to the failure of society to adopt preventive measures which are everywhere called for by the present mode of industrial organization. Of the causes of pauperism, the commission placed chief em- phasis upon the following : x 1. Old age, " when combined with, or following upon, other causes, such as low earning power, drink or shiftlessness." The relation of this cause to the industrial situation is seen in the sig- nificant statement that the commission " found a very general opinion that the development of industry is such as to make in- creasing demands upon the worker, and thus cause him to drop out of the industrial ranks at an earlier age." The obvious solu- tion of the old age problem was a system of old age insurance or old age pensions and Parliament had already taken this step before the Poor Law Commission made its final report, by the adoption of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908. As regards the reluctance of employers to engage old men, the commission said that this tendency to pauperism was beyond the influence of the poor law administrators, but that the remedy was to be found partly in a willingness of trade unions to allow older men to work for a lower wage than that paid to younger men, and partly in a system of insurance against unemployment. 1 A summary of this part of the Poor Law Report is to be found in Helen Bosanquet's The Poor Law Report of 1909, pp. 24-42. 6 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION 2. Drink as a factor in the creation of pauperism was shown to possess great importance by the evidence submitted to the commission. Especially in the case of inmates of workhouses and infirmaries, drink was held to be one of the chief causes of dependency. Not only the drinker himself but other members of his family were kept in poverty, if not reduced to a state of dependency by this cause. The commission suggested no radical remedy for this evil, believing that it must be found " in the greater self-control of the people themselves," but they did recommend that provision be made for the compulsory detention of inebriates in certain cases. Parliament had made some effort to deal with the drink question by means of the Licensing Bill of 1908, which was adopted in the Commons by a large majority, but was rejected by the House of Lords. No further legislation in the way of abatement of the drink evil seems to have been attempted prior to the war. 3. Sickness was a cause which contributed largely to pauper- ism, according to the report of the commission. " Any form of illness which is severe and prolonged tends to exhaust the resources of the family, especially when it is the wage earner who suffers." The specific diseases which the commission found most productive of pauperism were the venereal diseases and con- sumption, and the effects of these diseases were greatly aggra- vated by the living conditions amongst the very poor. The recom- mendations of the commission called for an entire change in the modes of furnishing medical relief, placed great emphasis on preventive measures and recommended that in certain cases, especially when dealing with the above mentioned diseases, power of compulsory removal to, and detention in, an institution should be given to the authorities under proper safeguards. As we shall presently see, the question of providing adequate medical assist- ance was dealt with by Parliament in a thoroughgoing fashion by Part I of the National Insurance Act, 1911. 4. Bad housing conditions and bad sanitation, as they induce sickness and loss of vitality, were among the causes of pauperism as stated by the Poor Law Commission. Especial emphasis was laid upon the influence of the unregulated or insufficiently regu- THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 7 lated common lodging houses and furnished rooms. The gov- vernment undertook to deal with the housing problem by the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909. 5. Amongst industrial causes of pauperism, the commission declared that irregularity of employment stood foremost. To a certain extent casual labor itself was found to be a result of the demoralization of the work people by other causes, but there wa's little doubt in the minds of the commission that if regularity of employment could be secured for those able and willing to work, pauperism of the worst type would be greatly reduced. " Take away casual labor and drink and you can shut up three quarters of the workhouses," is one of the strong statements in the report to which the commission apparently lent its approval. In this connection the commission called attention to the extent to which the casual labor force was recruited from the ranks of boys turned out from the elementary schools without having any industrial training. The recommendations of the commission that a system of labor exchanges throughout the United Kingdom be established, that in connection with these exchanges and with the schools there should be created committees or agencies prepared to advise children and their parents in regard to the child's future work, and that a system of unemployment insurance be established, at first among the well organized trades, but gradually extended to others, were carried out in Parliament by the passage of the Labor Exchanges Act, 1909, and by the adoption of Part II (Unemployment) of the National Insurance Act, 1911. 6. Low earnings in certain occupations are mentioned by the commission as another cause of pauperism, but less emphasis is placed upon this than upon some of the others above mentioned. If, however, we substitute the word poverty for that of pauper- ism we should doubtless find low earnings occupying a much more important place among the contributing causes. By the Trade Boards Act, 1909, Parliament endeavored to furnish a means of combating the evil of low wages in the sweated trades. The above mentioned do not exhaust the list of the factors contributing directly or indirectly to a state of dependency, as 8 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION revealed by the investigation of the Poor Law Commission of 1905-1909. They do, however, constitute the most important causes there mentioned and they are the ones to which Parlia- ment primarily directed its attention during the years which intervened between the incoming of the Liberal ministry and the outbreak of the war. It would perhaps be a mistake to conclude that the investiga- tions and report of the Poor Law Commission were mainly responsible for the adoption of the program of social legislation enacted by Parliament during these years. Many of these reforms had been urged for years by social reformers, who based their demands largely upon the results obtained through such legisla- tion in other countries, particularly in Germany and the Austra- lasian colonies of Great Britain. Furthermore, the recommenda- tions of the Poor Law Commission were frequently disregarded by Parliament when it came to legislate on these matters. The commission itself was not a unit in its recommendation of reforms. A minority of four members were dissatisfied with the program of reforms submitted by the fourteen members who constituted the majority, and this minority submitted a demand for more radical changes than those advocated by the majority commissioners. 1 The great services of the investigation and report made by the Poor Law Commission were that they made clear the conditions existing among the poorer classes in the . United Kingdom in 1909; that they revealed the tendencies towards degradation among laborers still living above the pauper line, and that, in some cases, they pointed out the direction which reform legislation should take. THE TRADE DISPUTES ACT The first important labor measure which, having been intro- duced and discussed in the House of Commons under the control of the Liberals, ran the gauntlet of the House of Lords and 1 A discussion of the entire subject from the standpoint of the minority members is found in English Poor Law Policy by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. (London, 1910.) THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 9 received the royal assent was the Trade Disputes Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 47). Trade unions in Great Britain, which during the early years of the nineteenth century were deemed to be unlawful associations and their members prosecuted under the conspiracy laws for having united in restraint of trade, were legalized in 1824 and their position made more secure by the Trade Union Acts, 1871 and 1876. It was generally assumed that these acts, which held that trade unions were not unlawful combinations, even though they restrained trade, and which relieved from prosecution for criminal conspiracy members of such unions who acted in agree- ment or combination to further a trade dispute, had also relieved the unions of liability for damages suffered as a result of a trade dispute fostered or supported by the union or its agents. In 1900, however, as a result of a strike on the Taff Vale Railway, the railway company brought suit against the strikers for breach of contract and also claimed damages from their union (The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants), which, although it had discountenanced the strike, had nevertheless given the men financial support. Mr. Justice Farwell, in the High Court of Justice, awarded damages against the union which, though neither a corporation nor a partnership, was, he said, an association of individuals vested by the legislature with a capacity for owning property and acting by agents and which, in the absence of ex- press enactment to the contrary, must be held to possess liability to the extent of such property for the acts and defaults of its agents. This judgment was disallowed by the Court of Appeals, but was subsequently sustained by the House of Lords, the high- est British court, to which the case had been carried on appeal. . The danger to the trade unions which this judgment threatened caused an active agitation by the unions and their friends to secure legislation relieving unions of financial responsibility for acts done in furtherance of a trade dispute. More than anything else this agitation was responsible for that crystalization of radical opinions which resulted in the creation of the Labor party. Even the Conservative government under the leadership of Mr. Bal- four had attempted such legislation in 1905, but the bill intro- 10 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION duced by the government was so mutilated in the course of its consideration in committee that it was withdrawn. Under Lib- eral leadership the Trade Disputes Act, 1906, was brought for- ward early in the next session, was amended by the adoption of a clause taken from a more radical bill introduced by the Labor members and, as amended, finally became law, as hitherto stated. The act legalized peaceful picketing, removed liability for acts done in furtherance of a trade dispute, on the ground only that they induced other persons to break a contract of employment or that they interfered with the business or employment of some other person, and forbade any court to entertain an action against a trade union in respect to any tortious act alleged to have been committed by it or on its behalf. The enactment of this measure was probably largely responsible for the growth of trade unions in Great Britain, whose aggregate membership increased from 2,113,806 in 1906 to 3,987,115 in 1913. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION Another important piece of labor legislation enacted at the 1906 session of Parliament was the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 58). The principle of workmen's compensation as opposed to that of employers' liability, had been accepted by the British Parliament in 1897, but the 1897 act had limited the right to claim compensation to workmen engaged in the most dangerous occupations and had made the payment of compensation compulsory only upon employers in these trades who were solvent or who had insured themselves against the risks to their workmen. In 1900 the act had been extended to cover laborers engaged in agriculture and gardening, occupations not generally believed to be dangerous callings. In 1906 the government proposed further to extend the principle of work- men's compensation to all industrial callings, but excluded from its operation police-constables, clerks, shop assistants, domestic servants and employes of employers, other than those engaged in agriculture, whose workmen did not exceed five in number. Parliament refused to make these exceptions and the act as THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 11 passed covered workmen in all occupations except clerks and salaried employes in receipt of salaries of 250 or over. Small as well as large employers were made liable, but insurance by employers was not made compulsory. A certain degree of pro- tection was afforded to workmen whose employers might become bankrupt. The act classed certain occupational diseases as acci- dents, for which compensation was made payable, and provided that the Secretary of State might make orders extending this section of the act to other diseases due to the nature of the employment. It was estimated that the act of 1897 had afforded protection to 6,000,000 workmen, that another 1,000,000 engaged in agriculture were covered by the 1900 amendment and that the act of 1906 brought another 6,000.000 people 13,000,000 in all under the provisions of the work- men's compensation law. Further amendments to the act were made in 1917 by the Workmen's Compensation (War Additions) Act. 1 OLD AGE PENSIONS Parliament next turned its attention to the subject of old age pensions. As already stated, the agitation for old age pensions had begun while the Unionists were in control of Parliament, but it had then been coupled with certain proposals for fiscal reform which Parliament was unwilling to accept. When the Liberals came into power, Labor members pressed for consideration of the question of furnishing old age pensions from the public funds. The government at that time lacked the necessary funds, but agreed to deal with the matter later. In the early part of 1908 the government introduced its bill for old age pensions. Oppo- nents of the measure sought delay, claiming that Parliament should wait until the Poor Law Commission had made its report and, when this request was refused, they sought to make the measure unpopular by moving amendments which, if adopted, would add greatly to the cost of the government's plan. The Liberals resisted all efforts to weaken their measure and the bill became a law (8 Edw. 7, c. 40) on the first day of August, 1 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 313. 12 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION 1908, the House of Lords, although not friendly to the measure, having accepted it as good party tactics. The act allowed a pension to be paid from the public funds to every British subject resident within the United Kingdom for at least twenty years who had reached the age of 70 years and whose annual income did not exceed 31, 10s. The amount of the pen- sion allowed varied according to the yearly means of the re- cipient, but might be not more than 5s. per week. No person was entitled to a pension (1) who was at the time of his application in receipt of poor relief; (2) who had received poor relief at any time between the dates of January 1, 1908, and December 31, 1910; (3) who had " habitually failed to work according to his ability, opportunity and need for the maintenance or benefit of himself and those legally dependent upon him"; (4) who was being detained in a lunatic asylum or in any place as a pauper or criminal lunatic; or (5) who was disqualified for registration as a parliamentary elector in consequence of conviction for an offense. A person might also be refused a pension while he was being detained in prison or for a period of ten years after his release, and the same disqualification might be applied to any person convicted and liable to a detention order under the Inebriates Act, 1908. It was estimated in advance that the number of persons apply- ing for a pension in 1909 and found entitled thereto would be about 386,000 and that this number would increase to 626,000 in 1912, chiefly as a result of the expiration of the poor relief disqualification at the end of 1910. Even these large estimates were far below the figures which experience showed to represent the persons entitled to this mode of assistance. The number of pensioners was 667,000 in 1909 and 942,000 in 1912. About three-fourths of the population over 70 years of age receive old age pensions under the act of 1908! 1 The rapid rise in prices during the war bore with especial sever- ity on the old age pensioners, and during the year 1916 the government decided to make an additional allowance (not to exceed 2s. 6d. a week) to any old age pensioner whose total in- 1 Rubinow : Social Insurance, pp. 378-379. THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 13 come, including his pension, does not exceed 12s. 6d. a week. The additional allowance is for the period of the war only. The exact amount of the addition in the case of any individual is left to local pension committees or subcommittees to determine. 1 MINIMUM WAGE LEGISLATION The evil of low earnings in the sweated trades was dealt with by Parliament, as we have already observed, by the Trade Boards Act, 1909 (9 Edw. 7, c. 22). In 1907 the Home Office had sent a commissioner, Mr. Ernest Aves, to Australia and New Zealand, to investigate and report on the Australasian legis- lation for dealing with this problem and a bill, intended to estab- lish wages boards along Australian lines, which should fix a mini- mum wage for workers in each one of certain sweated trades, had been introduced in Parliament in 1908 and after discussion had been referred to the Select Committee on Home Work. On March 24, 1909, Mr. Winston Churchill introduced the government measure which provided for the establishment of a Trade Board composed of representatives of the employers and employes in the trade, in equal numbers, and of a lesser number of appointed members to look after the public interests involved, in each of four trades, ready made and wholesale bespoke tailor- ing, paper box making, machine made lace making and hammered and dollied or tommied chain making. These trades were among those in which large numbers of women were employed and in which investigations had shown that very low wages, long hours and bad working conditions generally prevailed. The Trade Board was to fix a minimum rate of wages for the trade which it represented and might also fix minimum rates of wages for piece work, and these minimum wages and rates when made obligatory by an order of the Board of Trade were to be binding on all employers in that trade. In order that all localities in which the trade in question was being carried on might have their peculiar circumstances considered by the board, any board was author- 1 Monthly Review of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July, 1917, pp. 34-35. 14 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION ized to establish district trade committees, constituted in the same manner as the board itself, to consider these peculiar cir- cumstances and to recommend local variations in the general minimum wage adopted by the board. The minimum wage and piece rates were to be paid to home workers as well as to those employed in factories and heavy fines were provided for employ- ers who failed to pay these minimum rates. Provision was made for extending the operations of the act by order of the Board of Trade to any industry in which the prevailing rate of wages was " exceptionally low as compared to that in other employments." In 1913, accordingly, the act was extended to the following additional trades: sugar confectionery and food preserving, shirt making, hollow-ware making and cotton and linen embroid- ery. About 400,000 workers were employed in the trades covered by the original act and the extension order, and were directly or indirectly affected by the minimum rates of wages established. Although the trades which have been selected for the operation of the minimum wage under the provisions of this act are those in which women constitute the majority of employes, the mini- mum wages and rates apply to men as well as to women workers. Furthermore, in order to settle a strike in the coal mines occurring in the spring of 1912, an act was passed that year which provided wages boards to fix minimum wages and working conditions in the coal mining industry. A few months prior to the outbreak of the war in 1914, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lloyd George, had proposed the establishment of a commission to fix minimum rates of wages for agricultural laborers and had further stated that the govern- ment was considering the extension of the wages boards system to all the lower paid industries in the towns. Although the out- break of the war postponed further consideration of these pro- posals, they indicate that the principle of a legal minimum wage had met with acceptance in government circles and this partly explains the willingness of the government to make use of this principle when later it was called upon to regulate the manufac- ture of munitions. As we shall later see, a minimum wage was provided for agricultural labor in 1917. The Trade Boards Act, THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 15 1918, gave authority to the Minister of Labor to extend the provisions of the act of 1909 to other low paid trades. HOUSING LEGISLATION When the census of 1901 was taken in Great Britain the Census Commissioners discovered that 2,667,000 or 8.2 per cent of the population of England and Wales were living in 392,000 overcrowded tenements. Two-thirds of the people of London were living in dwellings having not more than four rooms each. In Glasgow one-fifth of the population lived in one room dwell- ings and more than half of the people had houses of not more than two rooms each. 1 Every industrial city in the United King- dom showed housing conditions differing from the above only in degree; conditions which were the product of the rapid growth of municipalities, high rents, land speculation and failure to realize the connection between bad living conditions and vice, crime and disease. Some improvement in the housing situation in the large cities had been effected by the Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1890, but more drastic reforms were needed and these were attempted by the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909 (9 Edw. 7, c. 44). This act made it compulsory upon local authori- ties to provide new houses when ordered to do so by the Local Government Board, authorized the local authorities to purchase land compulsorily for such purposes and provided for loans from the public funds to local authorities, at minimum rates of interest, in order to enable them to carry out the orders of the Local Government Board. It also provided that in any house, let at low or moderate rentals, an implied part of the contract should be a requirement on the part of the landlord to put the house in a condition " in all respects reasonably fit for human habitation," and to keep it in such condition during the period of the lease. The duty was placed upon the local authorities to prohibit the use for dwelling purposes of any house deemed by the local medical authorities to be so dangerous to health as to be 1 Percy Alden : Democratic England, p. 170. 16 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION unfit for human habitation, and upon refusal of the local author- ity to act, an appeal might be taken to the Local Government Board. Houses closed because of improper conditions, which were not or could not be made fit for human habitation within a reasonable length of time, might be ordered demolished by the local authorities. Precautions were taken to see that land needed for parks and open spaces in towns was not used for building purposes and every local authority included under the terms of the act was required to adopt a town planning scheme which had the approval of the Local Government Board and to see that further city or town developments were carried out in accordance with this scheme. Every County Council was required to appoint a medi- cal officer of health, who was not to engage in private practice, but who, under the supervision of the County Council and the Local Government Board, was required to perform such duties as were prescribed by order of the Local Government Board or were assigned to him by the County Council. Every County Council was also to have a public health and housing committee to consider matters relating to public health and the housing of the working classes and to exercise such authority as was dele- gated to them by the County Council. The erection of back to back houses was prohibited unless such houses were so con- structed and arranged as to secure effective ventilation of all rooms and were so certified by the local officer of health. Parliamentary leaders recognized that no housing reform which concerned itself merely with matters of construction and sanita- tion could remedy the evils of overcrowding in the cities, so long as the problem of land monopoly was unsolved. One must con- sider, therefore, as supplemental to the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909, those parts of the Finance Act, 1910 (10 Edw. 7, c. 8), which deal with taxes on the increment value of land and with the undeveloped land duties. These were intended, as Mr. Lloyd George said in his budget speech of 1909, to force urban land withheld from use or not put to the best use, into the market where it could be sold for housing or industrial purposes. The House of Lords rejected this budget when it was first pre- THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 17 sented in 1909, but when the appeal to the country in 1910 led to the return of the Liberals, the Lords yielded and the Finance Act became a law on April 29, 1910. Little was accomplished in the way of providing better housing facilities for the laboring classes during the years 1909-1914, due, it is said, to the failure of the Local Government Board to exercise the powers conferred upon it. What little was done proved woefully insufficient to meet the needs of many munici- palities, especially those in which the manufacture of munitions has been extensively carried on during the war. Further legisla- tion has been found necessary and still further laws and govern- mental assistance may be necessary to solve the problem. THE RELIEF OF UNEMPLOYMENT Unemployment was the one cause of pauperism on which the majority report of the Poor Law Commission laid especial emphasis. Parliamentary legislation followed more closely the recommendations of the commission with respect to this evil than it did in other matters which we have considered. By the Labor Exchange Act, 1909 (9 Edw. 7, c. 7), the Board of Trade was authorized to establish and maintain labor exchanges throughout the United Kingdom in such numbers and at such places as in their judgment were needed to facilitate the securing of employment by those out of work and to furnish laborers to employers having need of them. Under this act the Board of Trade established several hundred exchanges, there being over four hundred in existence at the outbreak of the war. The entire management of these exchanges was placed in the hands of the Board of Trade (later under the Ministry of Labor), which was also authorized to make advances in the shape of loans towards meeting the expenses of laborers who were sent to distant places where employment had been found for them through a labor exchange. About three and one quarter millions of applications for employment were made by laborers to the exchanges in the year 1914 and employers notified the exchanges of 1,425,000 vacancies. The vacancies which were actually filled by the 18 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION exchanges during this year were 1,076,575, which was 76 per cent of the vacancies notified by employers. Especial efforts have been made by the Board of Trade under authority of the Labor Exchange Act to assist boys and girls in finding employment in occupations which will enable them to learn a useful trade, and the same effort has been made by educa- tional authorities under the Education Act. Although the cor- relation of the work of these two branches of the government service leaves much to be desired, considerable progress has been made in the way of advising and assisting juvenile laborers to secure employment. The third step in affording relief for the unemployed was taken in 1911. Part II of the National Insurance Act, 1911, provided for the compulsory insurance of workers in seven trades : (1) building, (2) construction of works, (3) shipbuilding, (4) mechanical engineering, (5) iron founding, (6) construction of vehicles, and (7) sawmilling. These trades are generally well organized, but much unemployment exists because of seasonal and cyclical fluctuations. Under the act as adopted, unemployed benefits amounting to 7s. per week were allowed to those un- employed in these trades. These benefits could only be drawn when work could not be found for men through the labor exchanges and in no case could unemployed benefits be received by any man for a longer period than fifteen weeks in any one year. The benefits were paid from an insurance fund created by weekly contributions of 2 % d. from employers and 2% d. from employes while they remained at work. In addition to these contributions the government contributed one-third of the com- bined contributions of employer and employe. The act provided that trade unions which paid out of work benefits to their mem- bers might continue to do this and could then claim repayment from the public funds up to the amount which the men would be entitled to draw had they applied for benefits to the labor exchange. In addition to the regular labor exchanges provided by the act of 1909, which assist in the administration of the act, the act provided for a number of insurance offices so located that one THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 19 would be within five miles of every considerable group of work- ers in the kingdom and the insured man out of work might leave his insurance book at the nearest office, in which case he was entitled to the payment of benefits during the period for which no work was found for him. The benefits were intended to be sufficient to prevent actual suffering, but were purposely kept low in order not to deter the beneficiaries from seeking work. No benefits were paid under the act during the first week of unemployment. In order to be eligible to receive unemployed benefits a worker must be unable to find work at his trade and he must not refuse suitable work which was found for him by a labor exchange, but he was not compelled to take work where a trade dispute was in progress nor was he obliged to accept less than the current rate of wages for the com- munity in which he was at work. Under the operations of this act, in 1913 about two and one- half million workers were insured and nearly a half million pounds sterling were paid out in the way of benefits to those unemployed during portions of that year. Although the compulsory features of this part of the National Insurance Act were made applicable for the time being only to workers in the trades indicated, it was the intention of the framers of the act that these provisions should be extended as rapidly as possible to workers in other trades, and in order that this might be done, the administrative authorities were authorized to extend the system whenever they found it needful and practicable to do so. As we shall later see, Parliament itself, in 1916, provided for the extension of the unemployment features of the act to workers in the munition trades and to certain other closely allied trades. THE HEALTH INSURANCE ACT The last of the important pieces of social legislation enacted by Parliament in the decade preceding the war to which we desire to call attention was the National Insurance Act, 1911. Part II of this act dealing with unemployed insurance we have just con- sidered. Part I of the act provided for the compulsory insurance 20 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION against sickness and invalidity of all manual laborers between the ages of 1C and 70 and for persons not employed at manual labor whose annual earnings were less than 160. The act even in- cluded casual workers and home workers. The benefits under the act in case of sickness included not only cash benefits but medical care. No cash benefits were to be paid for the first three days of illness and in no case were they to be paid for more than twenty-six weeks in any one year. The cash benefits allowed were 10s. a week for men and 7s. 6d. a week for women. Hospital care was provided for in cases where it should be found neces- sary. The invalidity benefits were to consist of weekly payments of 5s. a week during incapacity, but these benefits were to cease at the age of 70, when the beneficiaries would be entitled to old age pensions. The cost of this extensive system of sickness and invalidity insurance was to be divided between employer, employes and the state. Except in the case of those workers who received unusu- ally low wages, men employes were to pay 4d. and women em- ployes 3d. per week. The employer was to pay 3d. and the state 2d. per week. For employes whose wages were less than 2s. 6d. a day the workers' contributions were to be lessened and those of the employer and the state increased. Special benefits were to be paid under this act both to insured women and to the wives of insured men at times of childbirth. The benefits granted to the wives of insured men were 30s., and in case of women wage earners, an additional 30s. might be paid. These benefits were intended to make it possible for the beneficiaries to refrain from work for several weeks during confinement. Nearly 14,000,000 persons in the United Kingdom were insured under the terms of this act during the first year of its operation, 1912-13. EFFECT OF SOCIAL LEGISLATION UPON PROBLEMS OF THE WAR This rapid sketch of important social legislation enacted in Great Britain during the ten years preceding the outbreak of war will suffice to show that, however poorly prepared for war the country may have been from a military point of view, it had THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND 21 enacted legislation which had the effect of providing a consid- erable measure of protection to the working classes, and this legislation has unquestionably made easier the task of meeting , the domestic problems which have arisen during the war. It is true that the laws have been too recently enacted to have exerted any considerable effect in building up the health, strength and vitality of the existing generation of workers so as to fit them for military service, as has been the case in Germany, where laws of a similar character have been in operation for nearly a genera- tion. Nevertheless, the English social legislation can not be overlooked as an important factor in helping to solve the social problems which have grown out of the war. The evils which the laws were intended to overcome were not of course those origi- nating in military operations, but since those laws made it easier for the country to adjust itself to a war basis and to prevent or relieve distress growing out of the unusual activities of the war period, they must be considered in any attempt to describe the social conditions which have prevailed during the war. Some of them, like the workmen's compensation and the unemployment insurance laws, have been modified to meet the new conditions growing out of the war. All of these laws will doubtless show themselves to be of even greater use in that period when the country changes from a war to a peace basis, and when the prob- lems of industrial readjustment will be unusually difficult to meet. CHAPTER II English Industry and Labor at the Outbreak of the War UNEMPLOYMENT STATISTICS The outbreak of the war found most British industries in a highly prosperous condition. Employment had been good for three and a half years, having attained its maximum during the first half of 1913. Although there had been a contraction after that time, conditions were still good at the end of July, 1914. Trade unions, having a net membership of 988,946 in July, reported that only 28,013 or 2.8 per cent of their members were unemployed at the end of that month. 1 This is to be compared with a mean percentage of four for the month of July for fifteen years, and, with the exception of the years 1912 (2.6 per cent) and 1913 (1.9 per cent), it is lower than for the same month in any year since 1900. 2 In coal mining 710,453 persons were employed in July, work- ing an average of 5.06 days a week. This, after allowing for the July holidays, is a record which compares favorably with the high level of 1913, when the average number of days worked per week was 5.58, " the highest yearly average recorded." 3 As compared to July, 1913, when an average of 5.26 days were worked, the reduction was only two-tenths of one per cent. 4 In what are known as the " insured trades " (those in which, under Part II of the National Insurance Act, 1911, benefits are paid to unemployed workers), where the number of insured workmen amounted to 2,325,598 in July, 1914, the unemployed at the end of that month amounted to only 83,412 or 3.6 per cent, 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 281. 2 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics of the United Kingdom, 1915, p. 6. 3 Labour Gazette, 1914, pp. 3, 282. 4 Ibid., p. 282; Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, 1915, p. 10. 22 ENGLISH INDUSTRY AND LABOR 23 which is just about the mean per cent for the eighteen months ending in July 1 a very prosperous period for these trades. The most notable exception to the generally good conditions of employment was that of the textile trades. The very incom- plete returns from the firms which report to the Board of Trade showed a decline in the number of work people employed on July 25, 1914, amounting to 1.8 per cent of those employed the closing week of July, 1913. l All of these trades, with the exception of hosiery, participated in this decline which, while not remarkable in itself, owes its significance to the fact that these trades (except- ing woolen and hosiery) were the ones which were chiefly affected by the industrial depression which accompanied the outbreak of the war. Unemployment due to the war was therefore super- imposed upon a certain degree of involuntary idleness which had already existed in these trades during times of peace. The figures relating to employment are not the only ones which tend to show the prosperous conditions of labor and industry dur- ing the years and months immediately preceding the outbreak of the war. PRODUCTION OF LEADING COMMODITIES The production in Great Britain of coal, iron ore, salt, tin ore, steel ingots and puddled iron bars, measured in tons, was greater in 1913 than for any previous year, 2 and the same is true of the tonnage of merchant ships launched. 3 Foreign trade sta- tistics, which are always considered a barometer of English indus- trial conditions, showed that the total value of imports into the United Kingdom for 1913 was 769,034,000, which represented an increase of 3.3 per cent over the figures for 1912 and 13.1 per cent over those for 1911. 4 The total value of British and Irish exports was 525,461,000 for 1913, which was an increase over those for 1912 of 7.8 per i Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 282. 2 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics of the United Kingdom, pp. 30-36. s Ibid., p. 37. * Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 35. 24 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION cent and over those for 1911 of 15.7 per cent. 1 Although the year 1914 did not maintain this record, the decline during the seven months preceding the outbreak of the war was not considerable, amounting in the case of imports to only 1.2 per cent of the imports for the corresponding months of 1913, and in the case of exports to 1.4 per cent of the amount exported during the first seven months of 1913. 2 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES This prosperous state of affairs in industry was quickly re- flected in both the wholesale and the retail prices of commodities. The index numbers of wholesale prices contained in the report on Cost of Living of the Working Classes and continued by the Department of Labor Statistics of the Board of Trade applies to 47 commodities, weighted in accordance with their estimated consumption representing all classes of production. The year 1900 was taken as the basis-100. The weighted index number for the forty-seven commodities considered collectively showed a steady increase after 1908 and in 1913 amounted to 116. 5. 3 Retail prices showed a similar advance. The index numbers of twenty-three articles, widely used by the laboring classes, were obtained by weighing the percentage for these articles in accord- ance with the average expenditure on these articles by working class families in 1904. Measured in this way, prices were 114.8 per cent in 1913 and 116.8 per cent in 1914, as compared to 100 per cent in 1900. The advance was even greater than this in the case of bread, flour and the cereals, for imported meats and also for eggs and cheese. 4 CHANGES IN WAGES AND COST OF LIVING If we turn now to consider the changes which had taken place in wages during these years of advancing prices, we shall see that the British working classes had not shared to the full extent 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 35. 2 Ibid., pp. 315-316. 3 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, 1915, p. 88. * Ibid., p. 102. ENGLISH INDUSTRY AND LABOR 25 in the prosperity which had overtaken industry. The index number for wages of skilled or semi-skilled workers in various trades and for agricultural laborers shows an advance from the base 100 in 1900 to 106.5 for 1913, when all groups of workers are considered collectively. For agricultural workers the corres- ponding numbers for these years are 100-111.2 ; for textile work- ers, 100-111.6; for workers in the engineering trades, 100-105; for those in the building trades, 100-104.4 and for coal miners, 100-100. 1. 1 When these advances are compared with the greater increase in the retail prices of most commodities con- sumed by the laboring classes, it will be seen that wages measured in purchasing power had actually declined during these years. Such a statement, however, takes no account of the greater steadiness of employment during prosperous years and it would probably not be true to state that the average earnings of the British laborer, measured either in money or in commodities, were less in 1913 or the first half of 1914 than they were during the early years of the century. Some further compensation for the failure of wages to rise as rapidly as prices is also found in the fact that in all trades and industries the number of hours worked per week shows a steady, though by no means a uniform, reduction. 2 According to calculations made for the report on the Cost of Living of the Working Classes, rents of working class dwellings in London had declined in London by percentages varying from 2 to 6 according to the location, and had increased in other towns and cities by percentages varying from 0.7 to 4.3, according to the county. 3 When rents and retail prices of food and coal were combined, the mean percentage increase in the cost of living, between 1905 and 1912, measured in this way varied from about 8 in London and the southern counties to 2.9 in Wales and Monmouthshire, 10.9 in Scotland and 12.2 in Ireland. 3 Other tests of the prosperity of the working classes, frequently applied, although not entirely satisfactory, are found in the statis- 1 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, 1915, p. 66. 2 Ibid., pp. 79-82. 8 Ibid., p. 122. 26 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION tics of savings bank deposits and of the number of pauper de- pendents. For the United Kingdom there had been a steady in- crease in the deposits in the post office savings banks since 1899, when they amounted to 130,118,605. By 1913 they had reached a total of 187,248,167. The corresponding figures for the trus- tee savings banks were 51,404,929 in 1899 and 54,258,861 in 1913. * Possibly a better test of the extent to which the popula- tion in general shared in these deposits is found in the number of accounts open, which in the case of the post office savings banks were 8,046,680 in 1899 and 13,198,609 in 1913, and in the case of trustee savings banks were 1,601,485 in 1899 and 1,912,816 in 1913. 2 REDUCTION OF PAUPERISM The statistics of paupers show that, exclusive of vagrants and insane persons, the mean number of indoor and outdoor paupers in England and Wales had reached its maximum in 1909, when it was 793,851, being a ratio of 22.6 per 10,000 of the estimated population. By 1914 the mean number 3 had fallen to 617,128, a ratio of 16.7 per 10,000. To a slight extent this reduction of number is due to the fact that in 1911 a number of paupers ceased to be dependent on poor relief in consequence of the partial removal of the pauper disqualification from old age pensioners. 4 Much more indicative of the changes which had taken place for the better in the condition of the wage earners is the falling off in the work of the local distress committees which under the Unemployed Workmen Act, 1905, are " empowered to provide or contribute to the provision of work for unemployed persons." 5 During the industrial depression of 1908-09, when unem- ployment had reached a stage of intensity not since attained (except for a very brief period in 1912), these distress commit- tees in Great Britain were very busy in receiving and acting on 1 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, pp. 326-327. 2 Ibid., p. 328. 3 As the mean number is the mean of the numbers relieved on January 1 of the year given and of July 1 preceding, it is clear that the 1914 figures are unaffected by war. 4 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, p. 331. 5 The Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 31. ENGLISH INDUSTRY AND LABOR 27 applications for relief by working men who were temporarily out of work. The following table * offers a comparison of the work of these committees for 1908-09 and for 1913-14, during which period there had been a steady decline in the work and relief found necessary by them. The figures are given for England, Wales and Scotland considered collectively, although the dates returns were made are not the same for all these countries : WORK OF DISTRESS COMMITTEES 1908-09 1913-14 Number of committees who received applications at some time during the year 138 62 Number of applications received 230,807 25,343 Number of applications considered eligible 159,303 17,205 Number of applicants provided with work 104,344 10,389 Number of persons assisted to emigrate 11,142 1,950 Number of persons assisted to move to another area 457 131 Cost of work provided 324,779 75,220 Total expenditure 419,081 124,380 LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS One other set of facts needs to be given to complete the picture of industrial and labor conditions in Great Britain at the outbreak of the war. This relates to the growth and strength of the trade union movement. It is a well known fact that trade unions in- crease in numbers and financial strength during years of indus- trial prosperity and generally show a diminution in the number of members in good standing during years of industrial depression and unemployment. The membership of British trade unions had with few fluctuations shown a steady increase during the fifteen years ending with 1913. In 1899 the number of trade unions, exclusive of a few unim- portant ones for which the figures were not available, was 1,310 and their combined membership was 1,860,913. By 1913 the number of unions had fallen to 1,135, chiefly as a result of amalgamation, but the total membership had more than doubled, 1 Compiled from the annual reports on distress committees issued by the local government boards for England and Wales and for Scotland. Abstract of Labour Statistics for United Kingdom, 16th (1913), p. 36; 17th (1915), p. 28. 28 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION being 3,993,769 at the close of that year. 1 This was an increase of 21.5 per cent over the membership for 1912. " This member- ship," said a writer in the Labour Gazette, 2 " is greatly in excess of any hitherto recorded, and the rate of increase is little below the high rate of 1911 (23.4 per cent). The expansion in mem- bership was common to practically all trades, but was especially marked in the transport and general labor groups. Some of the increase is attributable to trade union activity in connection with the National Insurance Act." " The total membership," the writer goes on to say, " of all trade unions in 1913 increased by 109 per cent compared with 1904 and by 175.1 per cent compared with 1895, when the membership was lower than at any time during the period 1892- 1913, for which the Department has comparable statistics." 3 One of the most remarkable facts connected with this move- ment was the increase in the number of female members. Their numbers had grown from 129,084 in 1904 to 318,607 in 1913, an increase of 176.4 per cent. " Nearly three quarters (258,732) of the total female membership were engaged in the textile trades, the cotton industry accounting for 212,534 or 60 per cent." 3 In discussing the strength of trade unionism at the outbreak of the war, mention should be made of the Triple Alliance of trade unions formed in 1914 between the Miners' Federation, repre- senting 800,000 workers, the National Union of Railway Men, with a membership of 300,000, and the Transport Workers' Federation, comprising 250,000 workers. The purpose of the alliance was to take joint action on matters of a national character or those vitally affecting a principle which necessitated combined action. The significance of the federation lay in the fact that all three of these powerful organizations are formed along industrial lines, that they represent the workers in industries in which the public is vitally affected and that syndicalist views have permeated more or less the rank and file of the membership. 1 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, 1915, p. 197. 2 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 282. 3 Ibid., 1914, p. 283. ENGLISH INDUSTRY AND LABOR 29 Plans for the formation of the Triple Alliance had been laid before the war was dreamt of, but were not completed until December, 1914. The alliance has already taken steps to secure compliance with the government promise that trade union prac- tices and customs will be restored with the coming of peace and that demobilization shall take place in such a way as to prevent a period of unemployment and low wages. 1 The organization activities among the working classes had found its counterpart among their employers. How large a proportion of the employers were organized at the outbreak of the war we do not know, but in 1914 there were 1,558 organiza- tions of employers, of which ninety-eight were federations or national associations and 1,460 were local associations. These numbers include only those organizations which deal directly with industrial relations. Employers were for the most part organized in the same trades and along the same lines as were their employes. Thus 496 associations of employers were in the building trades and 246 were in the metal, engineering and ship- building trades. That these organizations of employers and of their work people existed for the most part to deal on friendly terms with each other is shown by the fact that in 1910 an investigation made by the government showed that at least 1,696 trade agree- ments of one sort or another were in existence to govern the relations between employers and employes. The total number of workers affected by these agreements was estimated at 2,400,- 000, of whom 900,000 were engaged in mining and quarrying, 500,000 in the transport trades, 460,000 in the textile trades, 230,000 in the metal, engineering and shipbuilding trades and 200,000 in the building trades. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES It is perhaps to be expected that with a great increase in the number of trade unionists there should come an effort to make iLeland Olds: Railroad Transportation in British Industrial Experience During the War, vol. 2, pp. 1155-1158. 30 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION the potential strength of the unions effective in securing increases in wages and improvements in working conditions. This expec- tation is fully realized when one consults the record of industrial disputes for the years preceding the war. In its review of " Labor Disputes in 1913," the Board of Trade Labour Gazette of November, 1914, has this to say con- cerning conditions during these years : The year 1913 was the third of a series in which a considerable number of important disputes have occurred. Single years in the past have sur- passed one or more of these years in respect of number of disputes, num- ber of work people involved, or aggregate duration of disputes ; but, so far as the available statistics show, there has never before been a series of three consecutive years marked as a whole by such widespread industrial unrest. 1 A study of the strike statistics shows that practically all the main groups of trades were affected by the increase in the num- ber of disputes or in the number of workers affected by them. In view of the general industrial prosperity and of the increase in the cost of living, it is to be expected that demands for advances in wages would be the cause for the majority of disputes during these years. Disputes over wages explain the suspension of in- dustry by 46.1 per cent of the workers directly involved in trade disputes in 1911, 82.8 per cent in 1912 and 54.9 per cent in 1913. 2 In the great majority of cases the workers were at least partially successful in obtaining their demands. 3 The period of intense industrial disturbances did not come to an end with the close of 1913, but continued into 1914 down to the very outbreak of the war. The number of disputes occurring during the seven months January-July, 1914 (772), was some- what short of the number for the same months of 1913 (852), but the number of work people involved in 1914 (412,131) was only a trifle fewer than in 1913 (413,019), while the aggregate duration in working days of all disputes was much larger in 1914 (9,107,800) than in 1913 (6,339,400). 4 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 398. 2 Seventeenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, 1915, p. 190. 3 Ibid., p. 191. * Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 308. ENGLISH INDUSTRY AND LABOR 31 The brief statistical survey of industrial and labor conditions in England during the months and years immediately preceding the outbreak of the war which we have just given is probably \ sufficient to show that it was on the whole a " merrie Englande " upon which the ravages of war began to fall in August, 1914. ' The country had been enjoying prosperous conditions for several years and while a retrograde movement had begun during the latter part of 1913, which had continued up to August, 1914, the decline had not been great and there was as yet no indication that it was to be a serious or prolonged industrial depression. While it seems evident that the laboring classes had not shared in the prosperity of the industries to the same extent as had the shareholders, owing to the fact that the retail prices of those commodities which enter most largely into the wage earner's consumption had risen more rapidly than had the laborer's wages, yet a full consideration of such matters as the regularity of em- . ployment, the reduction of hours of work and the growth of social insurance warrants the statement that laborer as well as capitalist had profited by the industrial prosperity of the years 1911-1914. even though they had profited in an unequal degree. CHAPTER III Industrial Panic and Readjustment The first effect of the war on industry was the creation of a feeling of uncertainty. Mr. G. D. H. Cole in his book entitled Labour in War Time * well describes this uncertainty in the fol- lowing terms : When war broke out, the workers, the capitalists, and the government seem to have been equally in the dark as to its probable effects upon industry. No one knew what would be its reaction upon the credit system and on ex- ternal trade; no one knew how far the home demand was likely to suffer contraction ; no one foresaw the scale on which the war would be carried on, or the immense demands it would make upon production. It was, of course, anticipated that a few industries ministering directly to military needs would be busy beyond their wont; but even here nothing like what has actually happened was expected in the early days of August. On every side people made up their minds that there was bound to be a very severe dislocation of the industrial machine, if not a complete collapse. The way in which this uncertainty first communicated itself to trade was, of course, through the medium of retail prices, espe- cially the prices of food. Food prices began to advance on August 1, but the sharp rise took place after August 3, which was a bank holiday. 2 By August 8 prices had attained their maximum for the month and were then on an average 15 or 16 per cent higher than the level for July. This advance was gen- eral, but by no means uniform for the various commodities, being only one per cent in the case of milk, whereas in the case of sugar it was 83 per cent in the towns of over 50,000 inhabitants and 86 per cent in the smaller towns. 2 After August 8 the prices of most foods began to recede and by the 29th of the month the percentage increase over the July level was 11 for 1 Page 62. 2 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 323. 32 INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 33 the larger and 9 for the smaller towns. 1 The only notable exceptions to this general decline were fish and, in the case of the larger towns, mutton. In the case of potatoes, the decline was so considerable that prices during the latter part of August and throughout the remainder of the year were actually lower than in July. This was, of course, mainly due to the coming to market of the new crop. GROWTH OF UNEMPLOYMENT The effect of war upon employment was not the same in the various industries and was further obscured by the fact that August is the dull season in certain industries as dressmaking, 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 323. What action, if any, taken by the govern- ment, had to do with this fall of prices seems a matter of doubt. Labor writers refer specifically to " maxima prices " being specifically " fixed " by the government and having assisted in the fall of food prices, following the August panic. Thus the Labour Year Book, 1916, after showing what changes in food prices took place said (p. 42) : " How has this situation been dealt with by the government and by labor? After their first action in checking the purely panic rise of the first weeks of August by fixing maxima prices, the government retired from the scene." Likewise Cole (Labour in War Time, p. 119) said: "The 15 per cent increase during the first week of August was largely a panic increase which was checked partly by the gov- ernment's action in fixing maximum prices, but still more by the natural evaporation of the panic." A careful investigation of the war emergency legislation and govern- mental orders and proclamations has failed to reveal any action taken by the government in August, 1914, in the way of fixing maxima prices. On August 10. 1914, Parliament enacted the Unreasonable Withholding of Food Supplies Act, 1914, providing that " if the Board of Trade are of opinion that any foodstuff is being unreasonably withheld from the market, they may, if so authorized by His Majesty's Proclamation (made generally or as re- spects any particular kind of foodstuff) and in manner provided by the proclamation, take possession of any supplies of foodstuffs to which it re- lates, paying to the owners of the supplies such price as may in default of agreement be reasonable." etc. (4 & 5 Geo. 5, c. 51). No proclamation was ever made under this power. (Manual of Emergency Legislation, p. 17.) The act itself was repealed on August 28, its place being taken by the Articles of Commerce (Returns, etc.) Act, 1914, (4 & 5 Geo. 5, c. 65). This later act was put in force by Proclamation of September 17, 1914 (Manual of Emergency Legislation, p. 96), and it was apparently on its authority that the Board of Trade entered into an agreement with the leading sugar refiners to prevent speculation in this commodity and to keep its price within reasonable bounds. (Foreign Food Prices as Affected by the War, Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. No. 170. p. 62.) In August and September, 1914, the Board of Trade published a list of so-called "maximum retail prices" for various food commodities which were recommended by advisory committees of retail traders as reasonable, (Labour Gazette, 1914, pp. 283, 323-324) but there appears to have been nothing but moral suasion to compel their adoption by retailers. 34 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION millinery, Tailoring and the like. In other industries, notably cotton, the adverse effects of the war were added to a trade de- cline, which had already been marked for some time. In still other industries, especially in the north of England, employes were absent in August on their holiday vacation. 1 Certain indus- tries, or rather certain establishments, profited immediately on the outbreak of the war by government orders. This was notably true of shipbuilding and of certain establishments in the engineer- ing, saddlery and harness, boot and shoe, military clothing and hosiery trades, where some overtime was worked. 2 Aside from these special establishments, however, it may be said that the general effect of the war during August was to lessen employ- ment in nearly all industries. Unemployment in the trade unions which make reports to the Board of Trade took a sudden upward leap from 2.8 per cent of the membership at the end of July to 7.1 per cent at the end of August. At the end of August, 1913, only 2 per cent of the members had been unemployed. 1 The total number of people remaining on the registers of the British labor exchanges for whom no work had been found was 194,580 on August 14, as compared with 112,622 on July 17, and with 89,049 in August, 1913. 3 In the insured trades where the number of insured people was 2,341,508, 6.2 per cent of the workers were unemployed at the end of August, as compared with 2.6 per cent at the end of July, and 3.1 per cent at the end of August, 1913. 4 The figures relating to unemployment do not begin to show the full effect of the crisis upon employment, however, since in many industries and establishments the workers were put on short time instead of being laid off. This was especially true in the tin plate and steel sheet, engineering, printing, bookbinding, building, pottery and in all of the textile trades. This resulted in a great decrease in the earnings of the workers. 2 In the cotton manu- facture, where conditions were especially bad, earnings during 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 321. 2 Ibid., pp. 328-342. a Ibid., p. 348. * Ibid., 1914, p. 322. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 35 one week in August were 58.8 per cent less than in the corres- ponding week in July and 60.9 per cent less than for the cor- responding week in August, 1913. * METHODS OF AFFORDING PUBLIC RELIEF Under the circumstances it is perhaps not surprising to find that there was an increase in the number of persons seeking relief. For workers in the seven " insured trades " there was, of course, the relief afforded by the payment of unemployment benefits, payable under the provisions of Part II (Unemploy- ment) of the National Insurance Act, 1911. Claims for unem- ployment benefits amounting to 180,233 were made during the four weeks ending August 28, 1914, as compared with 103,730 claims made during the five weeks ending July 31, and the aver- age weekly amount of benefits paid during August was 11,772 as compared with 8,793 in July. 2 . There was a fall in the total number of claims made to 133,692 in September, but the average weekly amount of benefits paid rose to 19,734 during this month. 3 Conditions in these trades thereafter improved steadily. For workers in other trades other methods of affording relief had to be provided. " At the end of August, 1914, 40 distress committees had their registers open, compared with sixteen at the end of July, 1914, and fifteen at the end of August, 1913. Of those operating at the end of August, 24 had opened their regis- ters during the month owing to the disturbed state of employment caused by the war. In addition, numerous local organizations were set up for the relief of distress." 2 The number of persons receiving employment relief was 2,843 as compared with 589 in August, 1913, and in addition employment was provided for 180 persons by arrangement with employers and local authorities. 2 The number of pauper dependents, which, as we have observed, had been steadily declining since 1909, took a sudden leap upward 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 322. 2 Ibid., p. 351. 3 Ibid., p. 387. 36 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION in August, showing an increase of 1.9 per cent in number, and of 4 in the rate per 10,000 of the total population. The increase was in thirty out of thirty-five of the urban districts, but was especially noticeable in the Leicester district and in East London. 1 The distress produced by the sudden disturbance of industrial conditions due to the war was such that the War Office found it necessary in August to issue to the contractors working on army orders suggestions intended to minimize the evils of unemploy- ment and a warning not to allow sweating conditions to enter into their subcontracts. The following are the words of the Memo- randum sent out- by the War Office : 2 In order to assist as far as possible in minimizing the evils of unemploy- ment which must in some districts arise as a result of the war, it is par- ticularly desired that, in the execution of army orders, contractors shall act upon the following suggestions to such extent as they reasonably can, viz : (1) Rapid delivery to be attained by employing extra hands in shifts or otherwise, in preference to overtime, subject always to the paramount neces- sity of effecting delivery within the times requisite for the needs of the army. (2) Subletting of portions of the work to other suitable manu- facturers situated in districts where serious unemployment exists, although contrary to the usual conditions of army contracts, is admissible during the present crisis, and it is desired to encourage such subletting on the following conditions, viz: (a) The main contractor to remain solely responsible for due execution of the contract as regards quality, dates for delivery and in every respect, (b) The fair wages clause to apply strictly with the excep- tion of the passage prohibiting subletting. The main contractor to be re- sponsible for subletting only to manufacturers who will undertake to observe the other provisions of the fair wages clause, (c) Names and addresses of all firms to whom it is proposed to sublet work to be submitted for approval before work is actually given out to them. REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF TRADE DISPUTES One of the important immediate effects of the outbreak of war was the great reduction almost cessation of labor dis- putes. In July, 1914, ninety-nine trade disputes had begun in 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 352. 2 Ibid., p. 322. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 37 the United Kingdom involving, directly or indirectly, 49,370 persons. This, added to the number of persons involved in dis- putes which began before July but continued into August, gave a total of 98,112. The working days lost as a consequence of these disputes was 1,327,800 during the month. 1 In August the num- ber of disputes begun during the month fell to fifteen and their relatively insignificant character is shown by the further state- ment that they involved, directly and indirectly, only 2,004 persons. The decline in the number and seriousness of these' disputes was not accidental, nor was it unpremeditated. It seems to have been the more or less instinctive feeling of both laborers and employers that a period of international war was not a time to press demands for changes in industrial relations. Accordingly, a period of industrial truce began and settlements were reached in most disputes then in progress even before the trade union leaders met in conference to suggest such settlements. It is said, however, that the disputes were " settled, generally without con- sultation of the rank and file" (of the unionists). 2 This was, in the main, true of the settlement of the London building trade dispute, where an agreement was reached on August 6 by the executives of the unions and of the employers' associations along the lines of a proposed agreement which had several times been rejected by a vote of the workers. 3 On August 24, a conference called by the joint board of the Trades Union Congress, the General Federation of Trade Unions, and the Labor party adopted the following resolution : That an immediate effort be made to terminate all existing trade disputes, whether strikes or lockouts, and whenever new points of difficulty arise during the war period a serious attempt should be made by all concerned to reach an amicable settlement before resorting to a strike or lockout. 4 The net result of all these efforts to foster industrial peace was that the number of lost working days due to trade disputes 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 308. 2 Cole : Labour in War Time, p. 43. 3 iMbour Gazette, 1914, p. 326. 4 The Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 22. 38 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION fell from 1,327,800 in July to 526,900 in August, with a further decline to 229,800 in September. 1 RAPID RECOVERY OF EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS The August panic soon passed and industrial readjustment took place rapidly in most trades, except those in which female laborers were largely employed. Trade unions with 7.1 per cent of their members out of work at the end of August reported but 5.6 per cent unemployed at the end of September. By the end of October this percentage had fallen to 4.4, in November to 2.9 and by the end of the year to 2.5, which was practically equivalent to conditions at the close of 1912 and 1913 the best previously reported conditions for December. 2 In the insured trades the rate of recovery was even better, as is shown by the following table, which gives the percentage of unemployed to the total number of workers in these trades for the last six months of 1914. 3 Per cent July 3.6 August 6.2 September 5.4 October 42 November 3.7 December 3.3 The reasons for this rapid recovery in the conditions of employ- ment were, first, the placing of government contracts, which not only created a great demand for labor in those industries and establishments which received government orders, but tended to cause a shifting of labor from other establishments and indus- tries, and, second, the recruiting campaign and the progress of voluntary enlistments, which depleted the industrial supplies of male labor and soon changed a labor surplus into a labor shortage in many trades. 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, pp. 346, 382. 2 Ibid., pp. 357, 393, 429; 1915, pp. 1-2. 3 Ibid., 1914, pp. 282, 323, 358, 394, 429; 1915, p. 2. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 39 The first trades to recover were, of course, those working on war material, such as the engineering, shipbuilding, saddlery, furniture, bit and stirrup, woolen, hosiery, leather and boot and shoe trades. Some establishments in these trades began to prosper even in August, but the recovery is much more marked in Septem- ber, when statements like the following appear frequently in the Board of Trade reports for the various industries : Employment was good, with much overtime on government work. . . . Many men were brought from other districts. (Engineering trades: Lon- don district.) 1 Employment was good, especially on government orders, much overtime being worked and men obtained from other districts. (En- gineering trades: West Midlands district.) 1 There was a decline in employ- ment on the south coast, though government work was brisk. (Shipbuilding trades.) 1 At Walsall there was a further improvement in the saddlery, furniture and bit and stirrup trades, due to army orders, and employment was very good. (Miscellaneous Metal Trades.) 2 Owing to the execution of government orders, employment during the month showed a very marked improvement. Of the total number of work people covered by the returns, under 20 per cent were working short time compared with 60 per cent a month ago. (Woolen trade.) 3 Employment showed a considerable im- provement . . . due mainly to government contracts. (Hosiery trade.) 4 In Leicester . . . improvement was mainly with firms engaged on army and navy contracts, these were working double shifts and on Sundays. (Hosiery trade.) 4 Employment was good, with much overtime in districts engaged on government contracts. (Boot and Shoe trade.) 5 At Leeds . . . most of the firms were engaged on army and navy contracts, including orders for French army boots, and a great deal of overtime was worked. (Boot and Shoe trade.) 5 Owing to the execution of army contracts, employment on the whole was fairly good, and better than a month ago and a year ago. (Tailoring trade ; Ready made and Wholesale Bespoke Branch.) 6 It was not until a month or two later that this prosperity of the war times began to filter down into the other industries which furnished them with their materials. By October the iron and steel works had begun to receive government orders, 6 in the 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 367. 2 Ibid., p. 368. 3 Ibid., p. 369. *Ibid., p. 371. Ibid., p. 373. Ibid., p. 402. 40 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION worsted trade, " firms engaged on khaki yarn and clothes were very busy," x in the carpet trade, " some firms reported that they were turning their attention to blanket making," 2 and among carpenters " the number unemployed was reduced by more than half, large numbers of men being employed upon the erection of huts for the troops and upon other government work." 3 The effect of military service in reducing the amount of un- employment was a little slower in its operation. It appears first as a notable influence in the agricultural districts where even in August it is said that " some temporary inconvenience was caused in certain districts through men being called to the colors," 4 and in the shipbuilding trades, where there was " some temporary dislocation on the outbreak of war through the calling up of re- servists." 5 During the closing months of the year the influence of this cause was more marked, not only in agriculture, 6 but in such industries as coal mining, 7 iron and steel, 8 glass, cement, 9 and on the docks. 10 By February, 1915, unemployment in cer- tain trades seems to have become an aid in the recruiting cam- paign, for in nearly all the depressed trades in which men are largely employed, such as the tin plate, 11 brick, pottery, 12 bleach- ing, printing and dyeing 13 industries, the fact is noted that unemployment is being reduced by enlistments. The net effect of the operation of these combined forces government contracts and voluntary enlistments was that by the end of the year conditions in most trades had reached their prewar level of employment and in other industries, those largely engaged on government work, there was an extraordi- nary activity. 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 406. ^ Ibid., p. 408. /Md., p. 411. * Ibid., p. 341. /Wrf., p. 331. Ibid., p. 377. 7 Ibid., p. 400. s Ibid., p. 402. o Ibid., p. 413. Ibid., p. 415. 11 12 & is jbid. t 1915, pp. 89, 99, 95. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 41 These trades were, as a rule, working the maximum possible hours, many factories having double shifts, working day and night, and working on Sundays as well as week days ; there was a general complaint of a shortage of work people in these trades, owing to enlistments. 1 SLOW RECOVERY IN THE WOMEN'S TRADES Those industries which did not soon recover their prewar pros- perity were the cotton, linen, silk, lace, bespoke tailoring, dress- making, millinery, hat, tin plate, brick and pottery manufactures and the fishing industry. It will be seen at once that most of these industries are those in which women are largely employed and there can be no doubt that the burden of unemployment during the first six months of the war fell with much greater severity upon the women than upon the men. The loss of employment to the women was not alone due to the slow recovery of certain trades. Partly due to increased taxation and partly to economies voluntarily adopted, the spend- ing power of the people was reduced and the reduction took the form of a lessened demand for luxuries. Dressmakers, milliners, silk weavers, collar workers, tailoresses and lacemakers found their services dispensed with. House and hotel servants were dis- missed in many cases. Clerks and typists who had been employed by firms with a continental trade found no further demand for their services. Factories making candy and stationery closed their doors or ran on short time. Employment was bad in the high class branches of the jewelry manufacture, and in some towns even the laundry workers felt the effect of short work. 2 The review of the work of the Board of Trade labor ex- changes showed that in the case of both men and women the number of work people on the registers at the middle of each month, i.e., those for whom no vacancies had been found, was larger during 1914 than during 1913 in every month from Febru- 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 3. 2 " Unemployment Among Women in October, 1914." Ibid., p. 395. 42 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION ary to October, inclusive. The percentage of increases or decreases for the remaining months were as follows : x Men Women Nov. 13, 1914 11.7 +113.0 Dec. 11, 1914 32.3 +107.1 Jan. 15, 1915 47.9 + 88.5 GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO RELIEVE DISTRESS DUE TO UNEMPLOYMENT Believing that a good deal of distress was likely to occur as a result of unemployment during the war, the Prime Minister on the very day war was declared (August 4) appointed a commit- tee, whose chairman was Right Hon. Herbert Samuel, M.P., President of the Local Government Board, " to advise on the measures necessary to deal with any distress that might arise in consequence of the war." The report 2 of the committee made December 31, 1914, stated that they had made " the prevention of unemployment and distress their primary object throughout." In their circulars to local committees they urged that work people be continued in employment, so far as possible, in their local trades and that cooperation with the labor exchanges be estab- lished. They induced the principal spending departments of the government to spread their contracts, in order to secure the employment of the maximum amount of labor. They obtained the assistance of the Road Board and the Development Commis- sion in promoting new work in districts where any exceptional amount of unemployment prevailed or was anticipated. The committee found that " the fears of a widespread disloca- tion of trade which were entertained in some quarters at the beginning of the war have not been realized. Except in a few districts and in a few particular industries unemployment has proved to be much less serious than was anticipated, and, as previously stated, the policy of the committee has been to secure that, so far as possible, unemployed labor should be absorbed in 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 43. 2 Report on the Special Work of the Local Government Board Arising out of the War. (Cd. 7763), December 31, 1914. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 43 schemes of useful work, the cost of which is as a rule properly chargeable on local rate or on other public funds." l The committee was able to report that it had not been neces- sary to make any very heavy demands upon the National Relief Fund for the assistance of cases of distress among the civilian population, and such grants as were made for this purpose were " applied in financing schemes of employment and training." The / total amount of such grants up to December 31, 1914, was 158,266. The committee further reported that " the effects of the war on employment have been more severely felt in the case of women than in the case of men." A Central Committee on Women's Employment was constituted, which not only gave assistance to local committees in formulation of schemes of work directly under the control of these committees but also established workrooms under its own immediate supervision and inaugu- rated schemes for the training of women and girls and for experi- ments in the creation of new industries. A special fund was collected for the purpose of coping with distress among women workers. 2 The committee's mention of having secured the cooperation of the Road Board makes desirable the following statement of the efforts made by the Road Board to care for the un- employed. At the outbreak of the war the board decided to suspend the distribution of grants made to local authorities on the ordinary lines and to make grants in case they should be necessary to relieve distress. The board arranged with the highway authori- ties of areas in which distress was reported to grant sums aggre- gating 209,259 in road construction or improvement. In addition to these amounts the board made further arrange- ments with the highway authorities by which road construction and improvement, estimated to cost in the aggregate 2,115,824, 1 Report on the Special Work, etc., p. 6. 2 Ibid. For further information on this subject see the monograph in this series by Irene Osgood Andrews and Margaret A. Hobbs, entitled Economic Effects of the War Upon Women and Children, chapter iii. 44 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION " should be carried out in the event of the state of employ- ment for labor rendering it desirable to do so, and towards which the board promised to contribute." x " The works agreed upon," it was said, " are all useful works, the need for which has been established; and, though the board have not pledged themselves to make grants in respect thereof, except on the occurrence of dis- tress arising from lack of employment, they will be prepared to consider applications made by highway authorities in respect of such works in the ordinary course, and upon their merits." 1 EFFORTS TO FURNISH WORK TO BELGIAN REFUGEES It was the Special Committee on the Prevention and Relief of Distress which also undertook to care for the Belgian refugees, to provide for their transportation to England, for their care on arrival and to secure work for those able to work. With regard to the matter of employment of these refugees, the committee reported that difficulties soon appeared. " Many of the refugees were skilled workmen and there was a demand for their services in several trades, while among the refugees themselves there was naturally a desire to find some useful occupation during their stay here. It was most desirable to secure that any occupation found for them should not interfere with the employment of British labor, and it was also desired to safeguard the refugees so that they did not suffer from improper conditions of employment." 2 It was decided to appoint a special committee " to investigate these and other similar questions," and to make recommendations. This committee, of which Sir Ernest Hatch, Bart., was the chairman, was appointed at the end of October and made its first report 3 in December. The committee reported that out of about a million refugees nearly a sixth of the population 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, 316. (Review of 5th Annual Report of the Road Board.) 2 Report on Special Work, etc. (Cd. 7763), p. 6. 3 First report of the departmental committee appointed by the President of the Local Government Board to consider and report on questions arising in connection with the reception and employment of the Belgian refugees in this country. (Cd. 7750.) INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 45 about 110,000 had arrived in England and arrangements were being made to bring over more from Holland " to relieve the excessive pressure there." Of the refugees in England info'rma- tion was secured by the Registrar General from about 100,000, which showed that the number of men above 18 years of age was approximately 32,000, of whom about 5,000 were estimated to be of military age. The number of women above the age of 16 was also approximately 32,000 and two-thirds of the women whose marital condition was known were married. The committee quite early in its deliberations received an intimation from the Belgian government that it was desirable that no employment should be given to unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were in a fit condition for military service. This class was accordingly excluded from the scope of the committee's investigations. 1 The registration of the workers according to their occupations showed that they fell into three main groups: " (1) Workers qualified to fill vacancies in industries in which a shortage of British labor exists, such as armament workers, glass blowers, woolen workers, miners, motor mechanics, and agricultural labor- ers. (2) Workers qualified for and in need of employment for whom no opportunities in British industries exist, such as tailors, ironmongers, jewelers, milliners, dressmakers, printers, book- binders, fancy goods. makers and cabinet makers. (3) Other special classes, mainly of a professional character, such as gov- ernment officials, employers, clerks, musicians, teachers, authors and lawyers." 2 The committee expressed the opinion that no great difficulty would be found in securing employment for those in the first group, that for those in the second group " special measures will have to be devised if work is to be provided," and that for those in the third group " practically no chance of employment exists " * In considering what work could be found for the refugees and under what conditions they should be employed the committee 1 Report of Committee on Belgian Refugees (Cd. 7750), pp. 4-6. 2 Ibid., p. 38. 3 Ibid., pp. 38-39. 46 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION consulted with employers of labor, representatives of trade unions and government officials. '* The representatives of the trade unions raised no objections to the employment of Belgians, but they all made the following stipulations : (1) That no Belgian should be given any work for which British labor was available. (2) That in respect of wages paid to Belgians and the conditions of their employment the trade union regulations should be observed. (3) That in the event of the slackening of trade Belgian employes should make way for British workmen. It was also considered desirable that all Belgians for whom work might be provided, should become members of British trade unions. 1 The committee decided that the proper organization to under- take the task of rinding employment for the refugees was the Labor Exchanges Department of the Board of Trade and it requested local refugee committees to cooperate with the local labor exchanges. It was ascertained that voluntary agencies had already sprung up to advertise for Belgians to fill vacancies in certain trades and that certain employers were taking steps to obtain the services of Belgian workmen. Investigation showed that in some instances refugees had obtained work for which they were receiving wages at lower rates than those paid to British workmen in the same occupation. The policy which the committee recommended should be fol- lowed by the labor exchanges had as its two main principles the following : (1) That no Belgian labor should be employed until every reasonable effort had been made to find British labor through the agency of the labor exchanges. (2) That no Belgian labor should be employed at rates of wages lower, or on conditions less favorable, than those generally observed in the district concerned by agreement between the Association of Employers and of Workmen, or failing such agreement, than those generally recognized in such district by good employers. 2 Although these conditions imposed upon the labor exchanges did not go as far as the trade union recommendations, it appears that they were sufficiently exacting to make it difficult for the 1 Report on Belgian Refugees, p. 17. 2 Ibid., p. 9. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 47 exchanges to place the refugees in positions which were deemed satisfactory. Up to November 30, the exchanges had received applications for Belgian laborers from 1,281 employers, only 1,099 of which could for various reasons be considered and dealt with. Excluding the requests of 239 employers who did not state the precise number of workers desired, the numbers re- quested were 3,775 men and 1,508 women or a total of 5,283. * Yet up to December 21 only 607 Belgians, of whom five were women, had been placed in employment by the labor exchanges. The reasons for so few placements were said to be that the local refugee committees did not take any steps to bring the vacancies advertised by the labor exchanges to the notice of the refugees and that the conditions imposed upon the exchanges by the Local Government Board, as just given, meant delay in placing refugees in some cases and made it impossible in others. 2 The committee went on to say that " there are many other agencies at work not subject to these conditions, and it is known that many refugees have obtained work independently of the exchanges without the security which employment through their agency affords. The fact that the conditions recommended by the committee must necessarily be satisfied before employment can be offered to Belgians through the agency of the exchanges, tends to divert the business from the exchanges to other agencies, which are under no obligation to see that those conditions are satisfied." 2 " The committee fear that in some instances refugees have been employed on unsatisfactory terms and conditions, and it has been suggested that, with a view to preventing occurrences of this kind, which are greatly to be deplored, measures should be taken to make the employment of Belgians through the agency of the labor exchanges compulsory." 3 The committee did not make this as a formal recommendation at the time of making its report, but announced that it was making further investigations with a view to making a definite recommendation. The committee found it difficult to make 1 Report on Belgian Refugees, p. 11. 2 Ibid., p. 36. *Ibid., p. 39. 48 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION practicable suggestions concerning employment for workers in its second main group, those trained for occupations in which there was already a surplus of British workers. These were largely the luxury trades in which at the time there was much unemploy- ment. The committee recommended that the Belgian refugees in these occupations be employed in making clothes, furniture and other articles for household use for the benefit of their own people when they should return to their own country at the close of the war. Several workshops had already been established having this purpose in view. 1 The greatest difficulty in carrying out this plan, it was admitted, was the fact that the refugees were scattered throughout the country and it would be difficult to find enough workers in any one place who had sufficient knowledge of any one trade to con- duct a workshop for the carrying on of that trade. The com- mittee therefore recommended that the government undertake a redistribution of the refugees and that a central authority be formed to advise and assist local refugee committees in the organization of schemes for the establishment of such work- shops. 2 CRITICISM OF THE GOVERNMENT'S PLANS The Local Government Board's plans and methods of prevent- ing and relieving distress met with considerable criticism from " The Workers' National Committee " formed on August 6 by the Labor and Socialist Emergency Conference to protect work- ing class interests during the war. The main grounds of criti- cism were (1) that "the problem of relieving distress should have been a charge on the nation, and should not have been handed over to a voluntary fund," and (2) that "the Local Representatives Committees were practically delivered over to the tender mercies of the ' social worker,' so that an atmosphere of ' pauperization ' resulted." 3 The Workers' National Committee formulated a program about the middle of October for relieving distress and preventing 1 Report on Belgian Refugees, pp. 33-35. 2 Ibid., pp. 40-41. 3 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 32. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 49 unemployment and called upon " the entire Labor and Socialist movement to force these demands upon the government by an immediate national campaign." l There were thirteen different proposals made in this program, which included among others demands that all war relief be merged together and be taken over and administered by the government, that there be labor representation on all national and local committees, provision of productive work at standard rates of wages for the unemployed, fixing of maxima prices for food and commandeering of food supplies by the nation where advisable, the inauguration of a comprehensive policy of municipal housing, and the continuance of national control over public utilities at the close of the war. Although it is conceded by the friends of this program that " hardly any of its demands were granted, and of the more impor- tant none were fully conceded," * yet it is claimed that the Workers' National Committee did much " to prevent abuses and ameliorate the hardships to which the workers were subjected," and the further claim is made that : It is true to say that it was chiefly due to this emergency committee that at the outset the workers were not utterly crushed by the burden and novel hardships of the European War. 1 EMERGENCY GRANTS In line with the demands made by the Workers' National Committee, although apparently independent of these demands, since it was claimed by the committee that the government's action was entirely inadequate, was the announcement of the Board of Trade, acting under authority given by section 106 of the National Insurance Act, 1911 .(1 and 2 Geo. 5, c. 55), and section 14 of the National Insurance (Part II, Amendment) Act, 1914 (4 and 5 Geo. 5, c. 57), that it was prepared to entertain applications from trade unions and other associations paying unemployed benefits to their members for the payment from the 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, pp. 32-35. 50 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Exchequer of emergency grants intended to supplement the funds of the unions used for these purposes. These emergency grants were in addition to the refunds of one- sixth of the benefits paid by the unions as allowed under section 106 of the Original Insurance Act of 1911. The emergency grants were payable subject to the following conditions : (1) The union or association must be one in which there was an abnormal amount of unemployment (at least double the normal for a period of years) and the Board of Trade must be satisfied of this fact. (2) The union or association must agree to pay as unem- ployed benefits not more than 17s. weekly to any mem- ber (including the amount paid by the state). (3) While receiving this emergency grant, the union or association must agree to impose upon its members who were fully employed weekly levies over and above the ordinary contributions made for this purpose. (4) The union or association receiving the grants must fur- nish the Board of Trade with information, as required, as to the unemployment of their members. The amount of the emergency grant was to vary according to the rate of levy and the rate of levy would vary according to the maximum benefit paid. Under no circumstances would the subsidy paid by the state (including the amount ordinarily obtainable under section 106) exceed one-half the unemployment benefits paid by the association. Thus, if an association decided to pay the maximum benefit of 17s. a week and in order to do this made a levy of 6d. per week upon its fully employed mem- bers, it would (subject to its fulfilling the other conditions) be entitled to an emergency grant of one-third its expenditure plus the ordinary grant of one-sixth, or a total allowance from the Exchequer of one-half the expenditure for unemployed bene- fits. If the levy was only 3d. per week, where the maximum benefit was paid, the emergency grant would be only one-sixth the expenditure (combined with the one-sixth under section 106), a total allowance of one-third the expenditure. 51 The emergency grants would ordinarily be given in respect of expenditures made after the application for a grant had been allowed, but, under certain conditions, might be made retroac- tive to a date not earlier than August 4, 1914 (the date on which war was declared). 1 It may be well to follow here the history of these emergency grants, as they throw considerable light on the extent of unem- ployment during the early months of the war and indicate the trades affected thereby. Up to the end of December, 1914, 156 unions had made appli- cation for the emergency grants. These unions had a total membership of 232,880 and the amounts paid to them were, up to that time, 41,775. Of this amount 37,437 went to 117 unions in Ihe cotton industry, having a membership of 181,970. Other textile workers received 1,560 and four unions in the printing trades received 1,560. Small amounts were paid to unions in the metal, hatters, woodwork and other trades. 2 Emergency grants continued to be made in rapidly decreasing amounts during the succeeding months, but in May the Board of Trade announced that " in view of the complete change of condi- tions " it would pay no grants on expenditures incurred after the end of May. 3 As a matter of fact, very little was paid on expen- ditures incurred after April 30, 1915. The total results of this policy up to August 1, 1915, are shown in the following table: * APPLICATIONS .GRANTED Amounts Trade Group No. of Associations Membership Paid Building 1 61 4 Metal 18 8,372 1,297 Cotton 135 221,413 70,566 Other textiles 7 5,402 2,285 Printing 6 23,260 5,491 Woodwork 8 17,302 2,148 Other trades 10 8,487 2,385 Total 185 284,297 84,176 1 Manual of Emergency Legislation, Supplement No. 1. (To Nov. 3, 1914), pp. 41-44. 2 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 8. *Ibid., p. 231. 4 Ibid., p. 307. 52 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Any need for unusual measures to relieve distress or to prevent unemployment among male workers had disappeared by the end of 1914. A few trades, like the bespoke tailoring, hat and brick trades, were still dull, but the ordinary agencies for dealing with unemployment and distress were probably able to cope with the situation so far as men workers were concerned. IMPROVED CONDITIONS AMONG WOMEN : INDUSTRIAL TRANSFERS In the women's trades (textiles, dressmaking, millinery, etc.) improvement took place much more slowly. The February, 1915, Labour Gazette notes that during the past four months there has been a gradual improvement owing to the demand for women's labor in connection with the equipment of the new army, especially as regards tailoring, shirts, boots and leather work. 1 The establishment of workrooms where girls were taught new trades had relieved the situation somewhat in London, especially among dressmakers. 1 Transference of female workers from one industry to another does not yet appear to have become frequent, although there were instances of such transfers having been made or attempted. Thus it is said that among the Lancashire cotton operatives, over 200 women went either into Yorkshire or into the Rochdale woolen mills. But with the recent improvement in the cotton industry a large pro- portion of these workers have returned, and it seems improbable that any- thing more can now be done in the way of transferring workers from the one trade to the other. 2 Other cases of transfers were corset factory workers in Bath and Portsmouth being put at work at making knapsacks for the army; 2 girls in Redditch employed in making fish hooks were " absorbed by the local development in the manufacture of hosiery 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 38. 2 Ibid., p. 39. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 53 machine needles; " x dressmakers in Walsall were taken on in the lighter and less skilled branches of the leather industry ; l in Kil- birnie (Scotland) the net makers went into the textile mills employed on government work, 1 and in the northern division the ammunition works absorbed large numbers of work people from other factories. 1 Some efforts at transfer of workers to new industries failed. Thus in Basford an effort was made to use lace menders in the hosiery trade " but they were not found to be suitable for the work." * It was stated, however, that a new industry for the manufacture of tapes, braids, etc., would absorb an appreciable number of lace workers, " who are well adapted to their class of work." 1 Further instances of these industrial transfers are noted in February. Dressmaking in London was still depressed, but many dressmakers were finding employment on army clothing, shirts, etc. 2 In the bootmaking trade, where a shifting had taken place from football boots to army boots, it was said that the fact that there was less work on an army boot had caused the dismissal of a certain number of the women. 2 Still another factor in the unemployment situation is brought out in the following quotation : The high wages earned by men have also to some extent reacted on the supply of women's labor. The women who were thrown out of work at the beginning of the war in certain colliery districts, for example, are com- paratively indifferent whether they obtain fresh employment or not, as the men's contribution to the family income has compensated for their own lack of wages. Under such circumstances it is obviously difficult to induce the women to learn any new trade or to move to districts where their labor would be really needed. 2 In the districts where soldiers were billeted, the effect of war conditions was seen in an increased demand for domestic help, without a corresponding increase in the supply. 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 39. 2 Ibid., p. 79. 54 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Women who went out either for industrial or domestic help now find occupation at home ; in many cases they even need help, and the two in- fluences combined have in some districts resulted in the unusual state of affairs that the supply of charwomen is insufficient to meet the demand. 1 DISAPPEARANCE OF UNEMPLOYMENT A further recital of the improvement in labor conditions which took place during the first half of 1915 would only be in the nature of repetition. Among male laborers, the condition of labor surplus which existed in August and September had given way to a labor shortage by the early part of 1915. Unemploy- ment among women workers diminished more slowly. The luxury trades continued depressed, but the transfer of workers from one industry to another and even from one district to another relieved the situation from the workers' standpoint. 2 In such trades as the textile, boot and shoe, and in agriculture, female labor was being substituted for males at a rapid rate. Unemployment among trade unionists, as shown by returns made to the Board of Trade, had by April reached a percentage " lower than in any month during the last twenty-five years " 3 and every subsequent month in that year showed a further decrease. 4 By June the unemployed in the insured trades was less than one per cent. 5 The Labour Gazette in its review of the employment situation since the outbreak of the war thus summarizes the situation at the close of the first year of the war period: 6 Owing to the large number of enlistments the number of males available has greatly decreased. To meet this shortage of labor there has been a considerable transference from trades adversely affected by the war to other industries which were rendered abnormally active ; in addition there has been, wherever possible, a growing movement in the direction of substituting fe- male for male labor. The net result is that at the present time there is very little unemployment, except in a few luxury trades, while in a number of 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 79. 2 Ibid., p. 235. *Ibid., p. 155. *Ibid., p. 1. 6 Ibid., p. 265. e Ibid., p. 273. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 55 industries, notably coal mining, engineering, shipbuilding, agriculture and transport, the demand for labor greatly exceeds the supply. Government efforts of an unusual sort to relieve distress due to unemployment seem practically to have ceased by the end of 1914. This does not mean that such distress no longer existed, but that such agencies as existed at the outbreak of the war or had been created to meet the emergency were found to be able to cope with the situation. The number of paupers, which had suddenly increased in August and September, 1914, showed a steady decline month by month thereafter. In June, 1915, the number in England and Wales was 584,580, a smaller number than has been recorded for the end of June in any year since 1875 (the first year to which the return relates) in spite of the rise in population. The rate per thousand of the population was 15.8, as compared with 16.7 and 16.8 in June of the two previous years, and rates exceeding 20 per thousand in 1910 and every preceding year. The decline was common to all districts, and was shown in both indoor and outdoor pauperism. 1 We have already noted the cessation of emergency grants to the trade unions in May, 1915. The number of persons who received employment relief through distress committees was 115 in August, 1915, as compared with 580 in July, 1914, and 2,843 in August of that year. 2 RELIEF OF DISABLED SOLDIERS AND SAILORS One form of government assistance in finding employment became increasingly necessary as the war continued. This had to do with disabled soldiers and sailors and presented in some respects a new problem. No systematic method of dealing with the situation was made until February, 1915, when the President of the Local Government Board appointed a " committee to con- sider and report upon the methods to be adopted for providing employment for soldiers and sailors disabled in the war." Sir 1 Labour Gazette. 1915, p. 301. 2 Ibid., pp. 307, 346. 56 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION George Murray was made chairman. The committee made its report in May, 1915. The committee, after declaring it to be the duty of the state to assume the care of the sailors and soldiers disabled by the war, stated that this duty should include (a) the restoration of the man's health, where practicable; (b) the provision of training facilities, if he desires to learn a new trade; (c) the finding of employment for him, when he stands in need of such assistance. 1 To accomplish this work it was recommended that a central committee be appointed, to have the assistance of local subcom- mittees wherever needed, and empowered to act through existing agencies where practicable or independently, if need be. The functions of the committee would be: (a) to arrange for the care and treatment of all disabled sailors and soldiers, immediately on their discharge, with the view of restoring them to health, when possible, and enabling them to earn their own living; (b) to obtain early information of approaching discharges from hospital and to arrange for the registration of every disabled man, who was capable of work, with the labor exchange of the district to which he was going; (c) to communicate with public de- partments with the view of obtaining employment therein for* such disabled men as could properly be appointed to vacancies; (d) to organize public or private appeals to employers in order to secure their good will in filling any vacancies which were suitable for disabled men; (e) to appoint local com- mittees (where necessary), or local representatives, to assist the committee generally in the performance of its duties and especially in finding employ- ment and negotiating with employers; (f) to organize and assist schemes for training men who were desirous of obtaining technical instruction to fit them for skilled occupations, and to arrange for their maintenance during the period of training; (g) to consider and deal with schemes for employ- ing disabled men in agriculture and the industries allied with it; (h) to ar- range for the emigration of men who were desirous of settling in other parts of the Empire. 2 The committee discovered that between September 11 (the date of the earliest discharges from the army) and the date of 1 Report of the committee appointed by the President of the Local Gov- ernment Board upon the provision of employment for sailors and soldiers disabled in the war (Cd. 7915), p. 8. 2 Ibid., p. 6. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 57 their report (May 4, 1915), a period of nearly eight months, 2,874 persons had been discharged on account of incapacity. This was at the rate of 360 a month. The rate of discharge at the time of making the report was about 1,000 per month. The committee admitted that there might be some increase in the number of incapacitated as the number of men engaged in hos- tilities increased. 1 One important point covered by the committee's report related to the effect of the Workmen's Compensation Act in causing reluctance on the part of employers to accept the services of partially disabled men, because of the liability imposed upon employers by the act. The committee discovered that insurance companies did not, save in very exceptional cases, charge an additional premium on account of physical disability. The com- mittee said : We think, therefore, that no objection is likely to be taken on this ground to the employment of a disabled man, except where the employer had re- frained from covering his liability by insurance. 2 EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION Ordinarily the movements of emigration and immigration are closely related to employment conditions within a country. In normal years Great Britain loses a considerable number of her citizens to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other of her colonies as well as to the United States and other countries. The number of persons of British nationality who leave Great Britain to take up their permanent residence in these countries is larger than the considerable number who return to Great Britain from the colonies and elsewhere to reside permanently in the mother country. In 1913 the excess of emigrants of this sort was 303,685 and 1913. it must be remembered, was a year of unusual prosperity in Great Britain, when the motive to migrate in order to better economic conditions would naturally be weak. During the first seven months of 1914 industrial conditions in 1 Report on Disabled Soldiers, pp. 2-3. 2 Ibid., pp. 7-8. 58 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Great Britain were still favorable, but were not so good as in 1913. In spite of this fact, however, we find an almost steady decline in the number of emigrants, due apparently to the fact that economic conditions in the United States and the British colonies were not such as to attract large numbers of immigrants. The first effect of the war seems to have been to stimulate emi- gration from Great Britain, as we find that the number of emi- grants suddenly increased from 18,960 in August to 21,542 in September. At the same time the number of immigrants declined from 8,993 in August to 5,954 in September. 1 There are indica- tions that the explanation of this changed condition is to be found in a desire to escape military service, as the increase in emigra- tion was mainly to the United States. After September, how- ever, the tide changed and by November there was an excess of immigrants, amounting to 3,492. The change was chiefly due to the large homeward trend of Canadians who were appar- ently returning to the mother country to enlist in British regi- ments, although the increased demand for male labor may have attracted some. With the exception of the month of January, the excess of immigrants over emigrants continued throughout the whole of 1915. 2 CHANGES IN RATE OF WAGES One would naturally expect that the increased demand for labor in the closing months of 1914 would reflect itself not only in more steady employment but in higher rates of wages. No marked change of this sort took place, however, in 1914, if we consider the industries collectively. During the first seven months of 1914 (the period before the war) the total number of people whose rates of wages decreased was larger than the total number of people whose rates of wages increased, but the explanation is found in the fact that the decreases took place in the mining, pig iron, and iron and steel industries, where wages were governed by a sliding scale and fell 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, pp. 390, 425. 2 Ibid., 1916, p. 74. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 59 with a decline in the selling prices of coal and iron. 1 In other industries wages showed an increase. After the outbreak of the war an exact reversal of conditions took place. Prices of coal and iron began to rise and wages in these industries automatically advanced. Other industries, how- ever, like the textile, clothing, printing, etc., suffered a more or less temporary decline in their prosperity and here rates of wages did not advance, but in some cases fell. In consequence of these diverse movements, the net amount of the changes in rates of wages for the whole year was very small, being an increase of only 5,062 per week. 2 Changes in hours of labor in 1914 affected 79,135 of whom 78,689 had their hours reduced. 3 For the first six months of the war changes in rates of wages were few, 4 but by February, 1915, a sharp upward tendency was noticeable. The increases generally took the form of bonuses granted for the duration of the war and were allowed on the ground that they were necessary to meet the rise in the cost of living. 5 Aside from increases made under the sliding scale in the iron and steel industries, the increases in January and February were most notable for the engineering, building, textile and transport workers. 6 The increases which took place in March, 1915, were much more numerous and affected a much wider range of trades. Not only was the number of increases or bonuses much above the average, but also the amounts were in most cases greater than those granted in previous periods of rising wages. 7 No decreases were reported for this month and 446,267 persons shared in the increases, which were especially numerous in the engineering, shipbuilding, transport and textile trades. The increases frequently took the form of a 10 per cent increase in 1 Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 309. 2 Ibid., 1915, p. 3. 3 Ibid., p. 4. 4 " During the last five months of 1914 there were practically no important advances in wages." Cole: Labour in War Time, p. 143. 5 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 105. 6 Ibid., pp. 67, 105. 7 Ibid., p. 142. 60 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION piece rates or of war bonuses of from 5 to 12 % per cent, or from Is. to 4s. a week for time workers. Besides the changes given in the table, war bonuses and other increases are mentioned as having been granted to government employes, to railway servants, to seamen and to agricultural laborers. 1 In April, there were further large increases in rates of wages, but the upward movement was less marked than in March. 2 In May, however, came another great upward move- ment. " The amount of the increase in weekly wages were [sic] the largest ever recorded in a single month." 3 The increases were chiefly in the coal mining industry, which had 823,900 out of the 969,680 work people who received increases during this month. The war bonuses in this industry were frequently as much as 15% per cent on the existing wages, which were in some places 65 per cent higher than the basis rates of 1878 or 1879.* Further increases in wages were made in June and July. The Labour Gazette, in reviewing the changes made during the first year of the war, said that the total number of work people whose rates of wages were affected by the war was 2,336,700 and that the net increases amounted to 12,585 per week. " These figures are much in excess of those recorded for any previous year." At first the increases, taking the form of war bonuses, were in those industries concerned directly with the output of munitions. Later they were extended to most of the industries of the country, " the principal exceptions being the building, printing and furnishing trades." 5 The increase of the earnings of the workers was much greater than the increase in the rates of wages, since much overtime was worked in some of the trades, and usually paid for at higher rates than for ordinary day work. CHANGES IN PRICES Having observed the effect of the first year's war on wages let us turn our attention to the changes in prices which took place 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, pp. 142-143. * Ibid., pp. 223-224. 2 Ibid., p. 184. 8 Ibid., p. 300. s Ibid., p. 223. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 61 and which were said to have been the cause of the more or less voluntary increase in the rates of wages. The Board of Trade Labour Gazette, calculating its index num- bers for forty-seven separate articles weighted according to esti- mated consumption, discovered that, compared with prices in 1913, the prices for the first seven months of 1914 were 2% per cent below and for the last five months of 1914, 5.2 per cent above the 1913 level. 1 The advance was entirely in the food, drink and tobacco and miscellaneous groups : the coal and metals and the textile groups showed a decline in the price level. The greatest advances took place in the prices of sugar, wheat, oats and timber. 2 We have already observed the effect of the August (1914) panic in sending upward the retail prices of food. Prices which on the 8th of the month were 15 or 16 per cent higher than in July receded after that date until at the end of the month they were about 10 per cent above the August level. From then on they advanced and the advance continued throughout the first year of the war. The percentages above so-called " normal prices " in July, 1914, on the first day of each month are as follows : * Per cent Per cent September, 1914 10 March, 1915 24 October, 1914 12 April, 1915 24 November, 1914 13 May, 1915 26 December, 1914 16 June, 1915 32 January, 1915 18 July, 1915 32Y a February, 1915 22 August, 1915 (July 31) 34 The advances were greatest in the case of sugar, fish, flour and beef, lowest in the case of margarine, milk, bacon and butter. Although the Board of Trade has worked out no index number for wages during this period and a direct comparison between wages and food prices is therefore impossible, it is probable that 1 Labour Gasette, 1915, p. 158. 2 Ibid., p. 159. 3 Ibid., p. 275. 62 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION the advance in wages during the first year of the war was not as great as the advance which took place in the retail prices of food. The Labour Year Book, 1916, claims that " the standard working class budget," which would have cost 22s. 6d. in the summer of 1904, and 25s. 8d. in 1914, would by July 1, 1915, have cost " something more than 33s." * RECRUDESCENCE OF STRIKES With the great increase in food prices and the apparent failure of wages to advance during the early months of the war, it is perhaps not surprising that trade unionists should begin to regret the implied promise made on their behalf by the conference of labor leaders on August 24, when it was agreed to make an effort to terminate existing trade disputes and to settle further diffi- culties arising during the war, if possible, by amicable means. 2 Even at the time the " industrial truce " was declared, there were some among the labor writers who felt that a mistake had been made in declaring the truce unconditionally. This feeling grew as prices continued to advance during the closing months of 1914, and industry after industry began to prosper through gov- ernment orders without any effort being made by the government to induce employers to advance wages. 3 Such steps as were taken by the Chief Industrial Commissioner on behalf of the govern- ment during these months were in the direction of discouraging disputes, in order that production might not be interfered with, and temporary settlements were arranged which usually took the form of maintaining the status quo* The number of industrial disputes, which as we have seen had fallen to as low a figure as fifteen in August, slowly increased after that month, being twenty-three for September, twenty- seven for October, twenty-five for November and seventeen for December. The increase is more apparent than real, however, 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 212. 2 Ibid., p. 22. 3 Cole : Labour in War Time, pp. 44-45. 4 " Railway Conciliation Scheme," Labour Gazette, 1914, p. 362. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 63 for practically all of these disputes were of an insignificant character, involving directly or indirectly very few workers. Industrial peace was most nearly realized in December when the seventeen new disputes involved directly and indirectly only 1,192 workers and all disputes (old and new) in progress that month involved only 3,065 workers. These causes (says Mr. Cole) combined to create a partial change of attitude on the part of trade unionists by the New Year. The first, but per- haps the least important, was the government's policy in its dealings with trade unionism ; the second was the rise in the cost of living ; the third, probably the greatest in its psychological effect, was the growing suspicion that the capitalists were making a good thing out of the war. 1 Although the month of January, 1915, showed some increase in the number and importance of industrial disputes, the first really important breach in the " industrial truce " was not made until February. During that month the number of disputes begun during the month rose to forty-seven, involving directly and indi- rectly 29,000 workers. In February the railway servants who in November had agreed to suspend their demand for changed con- ditions made a demand upon the companies for increased wages. A settlement was made by which the companies agreed to pay a war bonus of 3s. a week to all men earning less than 30s., and of 2s. a week to all who were earning more than 30s. This agreement was subject to considerable criticism by labor- ers in other industries and occupations. It served as a precedent among employers whenever demands were made for advances in wages due to war conditions. The amount of the advance was insufficient, it was claimed, to bring real wages to prewar condi- tions in view of the very considerable advance in the cost of living. The three shilling bonus allowed to workers receiving less than 30s. a week meant an advance in money wages of 10+ per cent. By February the percentage increase of retail food prices over prices for July, 1914, was from twenty to twenty-three and according to " the standard working class budget " worked out 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, pp. 4, 25. Cole, op. cit., p. 140. 64: BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION by the Board of Trade in 1904, 66 per cent of family incomes between twenty-five and thirty shillings a week went for food. 1 The 2s. a week bonus allowed to employes receiving over 30s. a week took even less account of the advance in the cost of living. The chief criticism of the railway agreement, however, per- tained not to the amount but to the form of the increase of wages. The 2s.-3s. increase was a " war bonus," not a permanent increase of wages. When once a war bonus had been accepted in any great industry, it became difficult, if not impossible,, for workers in other industries to secure per- manent advances. 2 The ground of the criticism of the war bonuses is briefly this: that at the end of the war, when industrial readjustment is tak- ing place and labor is weakest in bargaining power, the bonuses will disappear and labor will have to enter into new agreements concerning standard rates. Under the circumstances, will labor- ers be able to retain any of the war increases? Whether the trade unionists, had they refused the war bonuses, could have persuaded employers to make any considerable per- manent advances in wages during the uncertainty prevailing in the first year of the war, may well be doubted, but it is probable that, in view of the government's desire to have the good will of organized labor, public opinion would have supported them in demanding that wage increases be made to fluctuate with changes in the cost of living, as measured by fluctuations in the prices of certain commodities ; the extent of these fluctuations to be ascer- tained at certain regular intervals by the Board of Trade. We are dealing, however, not with " what might have been," but with what actually took place. Believing that they were not bound by the terms of the " industrial truce," declared by their leaders and which had never been a stipulated agreement, the unionists resumed their stoppages of work early in 1915. 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 211. 2 Cole, op. cit., pp. 144-145. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 65 THE CLYDE STRIKE The first of these stoppages was that caused by the strike of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers employed in the Clyde shipyards. It began on February 16, 1915, and soon spread to nearly all the engineering shops on the Clyde, involving some 9,000 workers. 1 The three years' agreement entered into in 1912 had come to an end in January, 1915. In their negotiations for a renewal, the men were demanding an increase of 2d. an hour and this demand had been decided upon even before the outbreak of the war. 2 The employers made counter proposals and matters dragged on until February, when the employers offered an in- crease of %d. an hour, but offered it in the form of a war bonus. Its acceptance was recommended by the national executive of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, but the men, not even waiting for the results of a ballot on the question of accepting it, ceased work. The ballot on the employers' proposal, when com- pleted, showed that it had been rejected by a vote of 8,927 to 829. 3 The government now decided to intervene. On February 4 there had been appointed a government Committee on Production in engineering and shipbuilding establishments, whose duties were to inquire and report forthwith, after consultation with the representatives of employers and workmen, as to the best steps to be taken to insure that the productive power of the employes in engineering and shipbuilding establish- ments working for government purposes shall be made fully available so as to meet the needs of the nation in the present emergency. 4 The chairman of this committee was Sir George Askwith, Chief Industrial Commissioner. He sent a letter on February 26 to both employers and workers in the Clyde dispute, which contained the following striking paragraphs : I am instructed by the government that important munitions of war urgently required by the navy and army are being held up by the present 1 Cole, op. cit., p. 147. 2 Ibid., p. 148. s Ibid., p. 151. ^labour Year Book, 1916, p. 53. 66 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION cessation of work and that they must call for a resumption of work on Monday morning, March 1. Immediately following resumption of work arrangements will be made for the representatives of the parties to meet the Committee on Production in engineering and shipbuilding establishments for the purpose of the matters in dispute being referred for settlement to a court of arbitration, who shall also have power to fix the date from which the settlement shall take effect. The language of this communication clearly implies that the government then had the right to order a resumption of work. There is some doubt as to whether this is true, but the executive committee of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers urged the men to resume work. The Central Withdrawal of Labor Com- mittee, on the other hand, advised the men to resume work on March 4, three days after the date set by the government's request. Work was actually resumed on March 3. Employers and em- ployes being unable to agree on the terms of settlement, the mat- ter was referred by request of the government to arbitration by the Committee on Production. The award of this committee gave the engineers an advance of Id. an hour on existing wages. It gave this advance not as a permanent increase of wages, but it was to be regarded as war wages and recognized as due to and dependent on the existence of the abnormal conditions now prevailing in consequence of the war. 1 Thus the Committee on Production adopted at the outset the precedent set by the railway agreement of making wage increases take the form of war bonuses. Upon what principle the advance was fixed at Id. per hour does not appear. The laborers themselves complained bitterly that the advance was not sufficient to bring the standard rate up to the level in other parts of Great Britain or to cover the ripe in the cost of living prior to the war, let alone the advance in such costs since the war began. 2 Particular attention has been given to the Clyde strike because its settlement marks the beginning of a new policy of the govern- 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 52. 2 Ibid., pp. 52-53. Cole, op. cit., pp. 153-154. INDUSTRIAL PANIC AND READJUSTMENT 67 ment towards labor, a policy which developed through a period of several months and found its fruition in the enactment of " The Munitions of War Acts." Before tracing the course of the developments, however, we will notice the efforts made by employers and trade unions in the engineering trades to agree on a program of production during war times. CHAPTER IV The Government and the Trade Unions DISAGREEMENT IN THE ENGINEERING TRADES The engineering trades were among the first to experience a shortage of labor due to the war. This was due primarily to the unusual demands made upon them by the government to supply munitions of war. It is also said that ten thousand workers from this industry enlisted in the first few months of the war. From whatever cause, the shortage of labor made itself felt in this industry very soon and was acute by November, 1914. In December the Engineering Employers' Federation proposed to the unions that they modify (practically abandon) their regu- lations as to skilled and unskilled, nonunion and female labor, the demarcation of work between trades and the limitation of overtime. They offered guarantees that the federated employers would resume the old conditions at the close of the war and that payment of the standard rates would be maintained. 1 The unions would not agree to these propositions, basing their refusal on the following grounds : (1) The proposals were only from the federated employers and could bind only members of the federation. Only the government's promise to enforce the guarantees could solve the difficulty. (2) At the end of the war, when there was a surplus of labor, the employers would have the advantage and competition would have the effect of lowering wages, despite the guarantees. 2 The unions on their part made counter proposals : 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 53. 2 Ibid., p. 54. 68 THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 69 (1) Firms not engaged on war work to be given such work. (2) Firms working short time to transfer their workers to firms engaged on government work. (3) Employers and unionists jointly to request the govern- ment to pay subsistence allowance money to men working in places at a distance from their homes. (4) That the government draft skilled engineers from the colonies. (5) That skilled engineers who had enlisted be withdrawn from military service and be restored to industry. The employers held that the proposals of the unions did not " provide any adequate remedy for the present difficulty of obtaining the necessary supply of work people." They also expressed their " disappointment that their proposals to assist the country should have met with no response." x The men naturally resented the implication that they were unpatriotic, but further conferences failed to lead to an agree- ment. As to the practicability of the unions' suggestions, the authors of the Labour Year Book say : 2 It is an interesting commentary on the bluff (sagacity) of the employers that practically all the workers' proposals have since been adopted by the government. While the government's Committee on Production was still at work and before it had issued its report, Mr. H. J. Tennant, Under Secretary of War, made a speech in the House of Com- mons which met with much criticism from trade unionists and members of the Labor party. He asked the Labor members of Parliament to use their influence to get the unions to relax their rules, but did not indicate that the government was willing to protect the workers against the natural results of such relaxations or that the government would also ask employers to limit their profits in order that both sides might make sacrifices to assist in the prosecution of the war. The Labor members replied that this was a matter which the government should take up directly with the unions. The government eventually did so, but before this * Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 54. 2 Ibid., p. 55. 70 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION took place an industrial dispute arose in the settlement of which the unionists obtained certain concessions which exercised much influence on subsequent negotiations between the government and the unions. The dispute was in the Elswick works of Armstrong, Whit- worth & Company, one of the largest engineering firms in Great Britain and one which was at the time working almost entirely on government work. The company had, contrary to trade union rules, engaged unskilled workers from " depressed industries, coppersmiths, lace makers, cotton operatives, silver- smiths," and the like, and put them to work on skilled jobs. The engineers and shipbuilders objected and posted notices of a strike. A conference between the management and delegates from each shop was called and at this conference an agreement was reached which was to become operative until the question could be referred to a central conference between the unions and the employers' federation. The important terms in this provisional agreement, most of which in one form or another later were incorporated in the Munitions Act, were as follows : (1) That whatever the class of labor taken on, the district rate for the job must always be paid; (2) that the unions should inspect not only the credentials of the imported workers, but also the actual work done by them; (3) that the employers should furnish a complete return of all unskilled men taken on together with the name of their unions ; (4) that the services of such workers should be dispensed with at the end of the war, and that copies of the list containing their names be sent to every member of the Engineering Employers' Federation, with the instructions that they should in no case be employed; (5) that for the present no further unskilled workers be set on skilled jobs, and that the unions be consulted on all doubtful cases. 1 The subsequent national negotiations with the employers did not result in any agreement, but the provisional agreement with this large firm helped to put the workers in a strategical position when the government took up the matter of trade union rules. 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 55. Cole, Labour in War Time, pp. 174-175. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS '71 REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON PRODUCTION The Committee on Production issued four reports from Febru- ary 16 to March 4 inclusive, dealing respectively with (1) " Irregular Time Keeping," (2) " Shells and Fuses and Avoid- ance of Stoppage of Work," (3) "Demarcation of Work," and (4) " Wages in Shipbuilding Trade." The report on irregular time keeping in ship yards, issued February 16, dealt with the failure to attain the maximum output of work because of time lost by riveting squads. Riveting is carried on by " squads " or groups of workers. When any member of the squad was absent, his place was not filled but the whole squad remained idle. The committee did not indicate in any specific way how the difficulty was to be overcome, but urged that the parties directly concerned should make an effort to arrive at some satisfactory arrangement. If an agreement was not reached within ten days the committee recommended that any outstanding difference should be referred to the committee for immediate and final settlement. The report on shells and fuses, issued on February 20, dealt with trade union rules which had the effect of limiting the output of munitions of war. Restrictive rules or customs calculated to affect the production of muni- tions of war or to hamper or impede any reasonable steps to achieve a max- imum output are under present circumstances seriously hurtful to the welfare of the country, and we think they should be suspended during the period of the war, with proper safeguards and adjustments to protect the interests of the work people and their trade unions. 1 The committee recommended that the men making shells and fuses should relax their practice of confining their earnings on a piece rate basis to " time and half " or whatever the local standard might be. It recognized that the practice had been adopted to prevent cutting of piece rates, but pointed out that the govern- ment was the only consumer of shells and fuses and had no motive for cutting rates. It recommended that firms making shells and i Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 83. 72 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION fuses for the government give an undertaking to the committee not to consider the earnings of the men as a factor in making new piece rates and not to cut existing rates, unless this was war- ranted by a change in machinery. A second recommendation made by the committee was that female labor be more largely employed " under suitable and proper conditions in the production of shells and fuses." i The second portion of the report issued on February 20 had to do with " Avoidance of Stoppage of Work." After express- ing the opinion that, in establishments engaged on productive work, employers and workmen should, during the war, " under no circumstances allow their differences to result in a stoppage of work," the committee recommended that the government immedi- ately publish the following recommendation and ask government contractors, subcontractors and trade unions to declare their adhesion to the recommendation : Avoidance of stoppages of work for government purposes. With a view to preventing loss of production caused by disputes between employers and work people, no stoppage of work by strike or lockout should take place on work for government purposes. In the event of differences arising which fail to be settled by the parties directly concerned, or by their representatives, or under any existing agreements, the matter shall be referred to an impartial tribunal nominated by His Majesty's government for immediate investiga- tion and report to the government with a view to a settlement. In order to safeguard the position of the trade unions and of the work people, the committee recommended that firms contract- ing with the government be required to give an undertaking, to be held on behalf of the unions, in the following terms : To His Majesty's Government We hereby undertake that any departure during the war from the prac- tice ruling in our workshops and shipyards prior to the war shall only be for the period of the war. No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed to prejudice the position of the work people in our employment or of their trade unions in regard to the resumption and maintenance after the war of any rules or customs existing prior to the war. In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected after the war, 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 83. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 73 priority of employment will be given to workmen in our employment at the beginning of the war who are serving with the colors or who are now in our employment. Name of firm Date.. ..! The third report issued by the committee dealt with the subjects of demarcation of work and utilization of semi-skilled or un- skilled labor. The committee urged that in government establishments where, apparently, demarcation restrictions were not numerous, they be at once suspended. In private engineering and shipbuilding establishments they also recommended the suspension of demar- cation restrictions on work required for government purposes during the continuance of the war, accompanied by the follow- ing safeguards : (a) Men usually employed on the work to be given the prefer- ence. (b) If suitable labor were not available locally men might be brought from a distance if the work were of sufficient magnitude to warrant the transfer and if the work would not be delayed by waiting for them. (c) The customary rates should continue to be paid for the jobs. (d) A record of the nature of the departures from the statu quo should be kept. (e) Difficulties arising between the parties which they had not settled should be referred within seven days to the Board of Trade for speedy settlement and in the meantime there should be no stoppage of work. (f) The same form of guarantee to work people prescribed in the Stoppage of Work report should be adopted. 1 The second part of this report dealt with the utilization of semi-skilled or unskilled labor. The committee recommended the use of such labor whenever an employer working on govern- ment work was " unable to meet the requirements because of his ^'Labour Gazette, 1915, pp. 83-84. 74 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION inability to secure the necessary labor customarily employed on the work," provided that the use of unskilled or semi-skilled labor was surrounded with " proper safeguards and adjustments to protect the interests of the work people and their trade unions." * The success of the recommendations depended upon the will- ingness of the unions to accept them. The government therefore undertook to secure the acceptance by the unions of the principles underlying the recommendations. The government itself was quick to announce its concurrence in the committee's recom- mendation concerning the avoidance of stoppage of work and immediately named the Production Committee itself as the tri- bunal to settle disputes. It was apparently under this authority that the committee acted when it intervened in the Clyde strike and called for a resumption of work on March 1. The fourth report made by the committee was issued on March 1 and contained the terms of settlement of the Clyde engineer- ing strike, which have already been given. AMENDMENT OF THE DEFENSE OF THE REALM ACT The Defense of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914 (5 Geo. 5, c. 8), enacted November 27, 1914, was amended on March 16, 1915, so that Subsection 3 of Section 1 read as follows: It shall be lawful for the Admiralty or Army Council or the Minister of Munitions (a) to require that there shall be placed at their disposal the whole or any part of the output of any factory or workshop of whatever sort or the plant thereof ; (b) to take possession of and use for the purpose of His Majesty's naval or military service any factory or workshop or any plant thereof ; (c) to require any work in any factory or workshop to be done in accordance with the directions of the Admiralty or Army Council or the Minister of Munitions, given with the object of making the factory or workshop, or the plant or labor therein, as useful as possible for the pro- duction of war material; and (d) to regulate or restrict the carrying on of any work in any factory, workshop or other premises, or the engagement or employment of any workmen or all or any classes of workmen therein, or to remove the plant therefrom, with a view to maintaining or increasing the production of munitions in other factories, workshops or premises, or to regulate and control the supply of metals and material that may be re- 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 84. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 75 quired for any articles for use in war; and (e) to take possession of any unoccupied premises for the purpose of housing workmen employed in the production, storage, or transport of war material ; and regulations under this act may be made accordingly. It is hereby declared that when the fulfilment by any person or any con- tract is interfered with by the necessity on the part of himself or any other person of complying with any requirement, regulation or restriction of the Admiralty or the Army Council or the Minister of Munitions or the Food Controller under this act, or any regulations made thereunder that necessity is a good defense to any action or proceedings taken against that person in respect of the nonfulfilment of the contract so far as it is due to that interference. In this subsection the expression " war material " includes arms, ammuni- tion, warlike stores, and equipment and everything required for or in con- nection with the production thereof. 1 THE TREASURY CONFERENCE Armed with this persuasive measure the government, on the day following the passage of the above amendment, invited rep- resentatives of the Trades Union Congress, the General Federa- tion of Trade Unions and of the principal unions in the industries producing commodities for government use to a conference with the Chancellor of Exchequer (Mr. Lloyd George) and the Presi- dent of the Board of Trade (Mr. Runciman) to consider the general position in reference to the urgent need of the country in regard to the large and a larger increase in the output of muni- tions of war, and the steps which the government propose to take to or- ganize the industries of the country with a view to achieving that end. 2 The invitation was pretty generally accepted. Besides repre- sentatives from the two federal bodies above mentioned, there were representatives from unions in the following industries: engineering, shipbuilding, iron and steel, other metal trades, wood workers, laborers, transport, woolen and boot and shoe. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain was represented on the first day, but its representatives withdrew because they were 1 Manuals of Emergency Legislation. Defense of the Realm Manual, 3d enlarged edition revised to February 28, 1917, p. 3 (a). 2 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 59. 76 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION unwilling even to consider and discuss proposals for compulsory arbitration. 1 Mr. Lloyd George explained to the conference the powers given to the government by the amended Defense of the Realm Act and said that it called for the full cooperation of employers and em- ployed. He asked the unions to accept arbitration and to relax the trade union rules under adequate safeguards and proposed that this be accompanied by a limitation of profits, " because we see that it is very difficult for us to appeal to labor to relax re- strictions and to put out the whole of its strength, unless some condition of this kind is imposed." A subcommittee of seven was appointed to draw up, in con- sultation with Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Runciman, proposals for submission to the conference. The proposals submitted the next day were along the lines proposed in the recommendations of the Committee on Production and contained: (1) an agree- ment that during the war there should be no stoppage of labor on work required for a satisfactory completion of the war, but that all industrial disputes which could not be settled by agreement of the parties should be made the subject of arbitration by one of the following: (a) the Committee on Production; (b) a single arbitrator agreed upon by the parties or appointed by the Board of Trade ; (c) a court "of arbitration upon which labor is represented equally with the employers. If none of these methods were acceptable to both parties, a settlement should be made by the Board of Trade. (2) A pro- posal that the government appoint an advisory committee repre- sentative of the organized workers to facilitate the carrying out of the recommendations. (3) An agreement to relax trade union practices and customs in order to accelerate the output of war munitions or equipment, provided that the government require all contractors and subcontractors engaged on war work (a) to give an undertaking to restore at the close of the war, without prejudice to the position of the work people or their unions, 1 Labour Year Book, p. 78, note. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 77 any practice ruling in their shops or yards at the beginning of the war; (b) to give preference of employment to workmen in their employ at the beginning of the war; (c) to pay semi-skilled men called upon to perform work which had been done by skilled workers the usual rates of the district for that work; (d) to keep a record of the nature of the departure from conditions prevail- ing at the time of the agreement and to keep this record open to inspection by the authorized representatives of the government; (e) to give notices to the workmen, wherever practicable, of changes in working conditions which it was proposed to intro- duce, and to furnish an opportunity for consultation with them or their representatives; and (f) to settle disputes without stop- pages of work by one of the methods above described. 1 The representatives of all the unions represented at the con- ference, except the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, endorsed the proposed agreement. It seems to have been generally under- stood that the agreement reached at this Treasury Conference was an agreement entered into by the unions there represented, but in form it was merely an agreement of the signers to " recom- mend to their members " the proposals submitted by the com- mittee. Mr. Arthur Henderson, the Chairman of the Workers' Representatives at the conference, said that the agreement had no binding force until it had been submitted to the unions concerned. 2 The failure of the representatives of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers to sign the agreement was considered by the gov- ernment to be a serious omission, in view of the strength of that union in the munitions factories. -The representatives of the en- gineers felt that the agreement did not sufficiently safeguard their members, and they were also dissatisfied because the agreement did not express the government's declared intention to limit war profits. A further conference between Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Run- ciman and the representatives of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers was held on March 25, and the following important 1 Labour Year Book. 1916, pp. 60-61. 2 Cole, op. cit., p. 185. 78 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION additions to the agreement were made, after which the engineers gave their signatures to the agreement. 1. That it is the intention of the government to conclude arrangements with all important firms engaged wholly or mainly upon engineering and shipbuilding work for war purposes, under which these profits will be limited with a view to securing that benefit resulting from the relaxation of trade restrictions or practices shall accrue to the state. 2. That the relaxation of trade practices contemplated in the agreement relates solely to work done for war purposes during the war period. 3. That in the case of the introduction of new inventions which were not in existence in the prewar period the class of workmen to be employed on this work after the war should be determined according to the practice prevailing before the war in the case of the class of work most nearly analogous. 4. That on demand by the workmen the government department concerned will be prepared to certify whether the work in question is needed for war purposes. 5. That the government will undertake to use its influence to secure the restoration of previous conditions in every case after the war. 1 The government proceeded at once to appoint the advisory committee provided for in the agreement, naming as the mem- bers thereof the seven labor leaders 2 who had, as members of the subcommittee, presented the proposals to the union repre- sentatives at the Treasury Conference. The Treasury Conference agreement was very favorably re- ceived by public and press throughout England. This much is admitted by Mr. Cole, who is throughout critical of the recom- mendations, the effect of which, he says, " was to weaken, rather than to strengthen, trade unionism." Mr. Lloyd George was very enthusiastic over the results of the conference and said that the " document that was signed on Friday night ought to be the great charter for labor." 3 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 61. Cole, op. cit., pp. 188-189. 2 Mr. Arthur Henderson, M.P. (Ironfounders), Mr. C. W. Bowerman, M.P. (Parliamentary Committee), Mr. W. Moses (Pattern Makers), Mr. John Hill (Boiler Makers), Mr. A. Wilkie, M.P. (Shipwrights), Mr. Frank Smith (Cabinet Makers), and Mr. J. T. Brownlie (Engineers). 3 Cole, op. cit., pp. 189-190. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 79 ADMINISTRATION OF THE TREASURY AGREEMENT In order to carry into effect the terms of the agreement local munitions committees were set up in the chief centers of ship- building, especially on the northeast coast and on the Clyde. The committees were made up like the trade boards, of an equal number of representatives of employers and workmen with an additional number of impartial persons appointed by the gov- ernment. The important difference between these committees and the trade boards, however, was the fact that they dealt not with wages " but with the management and control of industry." 1 Speaking enthusiastically of the committee formed on the north- east coast which had on it seven representatives of workers and seven of the employers, Mr. Cole has this to say of the possi- bilities of the new system : The committee has, moreover, a far wider significance than any immediate advantage the workers can hope to gain from it. It will go down to history as the first definite and official recognition of the right of the workers to a say in the management of their own industries. Here, for the first time, the nominees of the workers meet those of the masters on equal terms, to discuss not merely wages, hours, or conditions of labor, but the actual busi- ness of production. Under stress of the emergency the workers are being recognized, however grudgingly, as partners in industry. 2 .This may be an extravagant statement, especially in view of the fact that shortly after the Munitions Act was passed these committees disappeared and their work passed into the hands of officials created under the authority of that act. 1 The real sig- nificance of the committees lies in the fact that in the new organ- ization of industry being developed as a result of war needs, the trade unions were being given recognition as an essential part of the organization. The Committee on Production appointed by the government in February continued its work during the spilng of 1915, en- deavoring to prevent stoppages of work on government contracts by adjusting wages, generally allowing increases in the form of 1 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 62. 2 Cole, op. cit., p. 198. 80 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION " war wages, recognized as due to and dependent on the ex- istence of the abnormal conditions now prevailing in consequence of the war." x The wage settlements seem to have been made in accordance with no general principle, such as the increase in cost of living. In some cases this seems to have been the con- trolling motive as, for example, on the Newcastle-upon-Tyne tramways when higher allowances were made " to employes who are householders " than to single men, and in other cases where bonuses were allowed only to men receiving below a cer- tain stated sum per week. In other cases, however, other con- siderations dominated, as in the cement trade, where " the ad- verse effect that the war has exercised and is exercising upon the cement trade " was sufficient to influence the committee to allow no further increase of wages beyond the 5 per cent advance volun- tarily offered by the employers. 2 Meanwhile, trade disputes which, as we have seen, reached their minimum in intensity in December, 1914, began to increase at a rapid rate in the early part of 1915, as is shown by the fol- lowing table : 3 No. OF No. OF WORK PEOPLE AFFECTED MONTH DISPUTES Directly Directly and Indirectly December, 1914 17 1,190 1,192 January, 1915 30 3,436 4,082 February, 1915 47 26,129 29,007 March, 1915 74 12,982 16,359 April, 1915 44 5,137 5,577 May, 1915 63 39,913 48,240 June, 1915 72 17,904 22,230 From the governmental standpoint the most serious phase of this increase was that the disputes were mainly in those indus- tries, engineering, coal mining and transport, upon which the increasing output of munitions of war was mainly dependent. Most of the disputes were over the question of wages and in spite of the activity of the Committee on Production, it was evi- 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, pp. 120-121, 162-164. 2 Ibid., pp. 203-205. 3 Ibid., pp. 66, 104, 141, 183, 222, 261. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 81 dent that further steps needed to be taken if the output of war material was to be brought up to its maximum. Before these steps were taken, however, an event occurred which further tended to complicate matters. THE DRINK PROBLEM Mr. Lloyd George made a series of speeches in April, in one of which he laid great emphasis upon the influence of " the lure of drink " among the working classes as a factor responsible for the insufficient supply of munitions. The speech was widely circulated by the newspapers and was quickly seized upon by those who were advocating prohibition of the use of intoxicants during war time. The basis of the attack was, presumably, a report on lost time in war industries which was presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Lloyd George and was made public on Labor Day, May 1. The report claimed that in the Clyde, Tyne and Barrow dis- tricts the situation in respect to shipbuilding, repairs and muni- tions of war work put briefly was that now, while the country is at war, the men are doing less work than would be regarded as an ordinary week's work under normal peace con- ditions. 1 Instances were cited where the time lost by riveters in the ship- yards " equals about 35 per cent of the normal week's work ; platers 25 per cent; and the caulkers and drillers about 22 per cent." Among fitters on submarine engine work " on the aver- age each man did little more than three quarters of a day's work." " The problem," it was said, " is not how to get the workmen to increase their normal peace output, but how to get them to do an ordinary week's work of 51 or 53 hours as the case may be." 2 1 Report and statistics of bad time kept in shipbuilding, munitions and transport areas, p. 2. 2 Ibid., pp. 2, 3, 5. 82 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The reasons for the loss of time (continues the report) are no doubt various, but it is abundantly clear that the most potent is in the facilities which exist for men to obtain beer and spirits combined with the high rates of wages and abundance of employment. Opinion on this point is practically unanimous. A great deal of statistical evidence was submitted by employers in the shipbuilding industry to show the extent to which lost time due, as they believed, to excessive drinking, interfered with the output. The report summarized this evidence in the following statement : The evidence is really overwhelming that the main cause of this alarming loss of time is the lure of drink. The employers say so most emphatically ; the Admiralty have received elaborate reports emphasizing the same con- clusion in the case of shipbuilding, repairs, munitions of war and transport. The Home Office reports are to the same effect, and the detailed figures sum- marized above are, in themselves, strong evidence that drink is the cause. A section of each class of workmen keep perfectly good time throughout the week, and therefore the cause is not one which is common to all workmen, or due to any general industrial condition. The worst time is generally kept after wages are paid, and at the beginning of the following week. When absence from work occurs the workman is usually absent for several days to- gether. Staleness and fatigue no doubt must arise from working during long hours over an extended period, but inasmuch as half the men are not in fact working for more than 45 hours a week, the cause must be found elsewhere. The testimony of observers in each district is that drink is by far the most important factor. . . . The contention that the cause of irregular hours is the excessive time worked is completely disposed of by observing that on average the time worked is unfortunately not so great as the standard in time of peace. The figures show, not that workmen who have been working long hours for days together occasionally take a day off, but that while some workmen are working steadily day by day for long hours, those who fail to work even ordinary hours are continually repeating this failure. 1 While the evidence to the effect that much time was lost in the shipbuilding yards on account of drink seems overwhelming, it must be said that the impressions left by the report were more or less unfair to the majority of the men in the engineering and shipbuilding trades. This was pointed out in the report by one of the factory inspectors. He called attention to the fact that irregular time is confined largely to certain specific trades : riveters, caulkers, platers, riggers, and to a very much less extent, engineers are th*. chief 1 Report, etc., p. 15. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 83 offenders ; such tradesmen as pattern makers, molders, turners, and time workers generally keep relatively good time. 1 Furthermore, he showed that drinking was not the only cause of lost time. Much of the lost time was due to the practice which we have already observed of riveters and platers working in squads. When, for any reason, one member of the squad failed to appear, four or five men would lose a morning's or even a day's work and the lost time of these men would figure in the employer's statistics. The same inspector threw some light on the reasons for the absences of the riveters, which, if not an excuse, at least deserves a place in the explanation of their dereliction. He said : Riveting is hard and exhausting work, and it is frequently and neces- sarily carried on in trying conditions exposure in winter to bitter cold and damp. The temptation to take a morning or a day off during very cold or very hot weather is great, as the riveter knows he is indispensable at present, and will not lose his job if he does lie off. Moreover his pay is sufficient, even with a partial week's work, to keep him and his family in comfort. The machine men working under cover are in a comfortable shop and have not the same temptation to lie off. Again the pay is relatively much less, and being time workers they can not make up the lost time by a special spurt. Another important point frequently overlooked is that at present, owing to the extraordinary scarcity of skilled labor, men who in ordinary times would never be employed on account of their irregular habits, are at work in many yards, and materially affect the numbers of those losing time. Briefly, I am convinced that the " black squad " piece workers have not risen much above the social position of the man earning 30s. a week, yet their remuneration is equal to that of a professional man. They have not yet been educated to spend their wages wisely, and the money is largely wasted, for they have few interests and little to spend their wage on apart from alcohol. 2 Mr. Lloyd George's speech and the allegations made in the report were warmly resented in labor circles and the Labor party in the House of Commons protested against the report, in which Mr. Arthur Henderson said " all the evidence against the work- ers is that of employers or officials," and demanded and secured the promise of the government to appoint a committee of inquiry on which labor should be represented. 3 1 Report, etc., p. 24. 2 Ibid., p. 25. 3 Cole, op. cit., pp. 200-207. Labour Year Book, 1916, pp. 62-63. 84 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION MINISTRY OF MUNITIONS Dissatisfaction with the progress of the war caused a change in the government in May, 1915. The Liberal Ministry resigned and its place was taken by a Coalition Ministry in which Labor was represented. On the 9th of June a new government depart- ment was created known as the Ministry of Munitions, " for the purpose of supplying munitions for the present war," * and Mr. Lloyd George was appointed Minister of Munitions " to examine into and organize the sources of supply of any kind of munitions of war." 2 At first it was believed, and apparently by Mr. Lloyd George himself, that the Defense of the Realm Acts conferred upon him sufficient power to control the labor situation. It was soon seen, however, that there were important gaps in that legislation. They gave the government power to take over any private works needed and to order the workers to work, so long as they re- mained there, exactly as the government directed, but it did not confer upon the government power to compel the workers to remain in its employ. 3 In other words the government had no authority to prevent strikes. There was much talk about this time of " conscription of labor." Every one, it was urged, who was not a soldier or a worker in some ab- solutely essential trade, should be forced into the making of munitions, and martial law should be proclaimed in the workshops. 4 In order to formulate a policy for the conduct of his work, the Minister of Munitions, held a number of conferences with labor leaders to discuss proposals for meeting the emergency. 5 The National Labor Advisory Committee appointed by the gov- ernment as a result of the Treasury Conference agreement in consultation with the minister drew up proposals which were put before " a full conference of trade union leaders representing 1 5 and 6 Geo. 5. c. 51. Manual of Emergency Legislation, Supplement 4, p. 14. 2 Order in Council, June 16, 1915. 8 Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 63. 4 Cole, op. cit., p. 208. 5 Ibid., p. 215. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE UNIONS 85 the munition industries." * They were carried by a majority of the conference though a minority of the representatives were opposed to the provisions for compulsory arbitration. Thus prepared, the Munitions Bill was introduced and with relatively little discussion was passed by Parliament on July 2 and became the Munitions of War Act, 1915. 2 1 Cole, op. cit., p. 215. They did not include representatives of the miners or the cotton operatives. 2 5 and 6 Geo. 5. c. 54. Manual of Emergency Legislation, Supplement 4, pp. 17-26. CHAPTER V The Munitions of War Acts The Munitions of War Act, 1915, together with its amend- ments (constituting practically a revision of the act) of January 27, 1916, and August 21, 1917, is the most important piece of labor legislation which has been enacted by Parliament during the war. Its foundation is the recommendations of the Committee on Production, made in February and March, 1915, modified and enlarged by agreements entered into between the government and leading trade unionists at conferences held in March and June, as already related. The act is entitled " An act to make pro- vision for furthering the efficient manufacture, transport and supply of munitions for the present war; and for purposes in- cidental thereto," and it was made necessary by a realization of the fact that an overwhelming supply of munitions of war for Great Britain and her allies was the essential element in the successful prosecution of the war, and, to attain this, the organization of an important section of the British indus- trial world upon a new basis became imperative. 1 Although the act has been severely criticized by some of the labor writers and socialists in Great Britain, even to the extent of calling its acceptance by Parliament " scandalous," 2 and of say- ing that its enactment came " like a thief in the night," 3 yet it must be remembered that leading trade unionists and members of 1 T. A. Fyfe : Employers and Workmen under ike Munitions of War Acts, 2d ed., p. 1. For purposes of convenient reference I have in addition to referring to the sections of the Munitions Acts, 1915 and 1916, made references to the text of the codification of the acts as given by Mr. Fyfe. In my abstract of the principal provisions of the act I have also madej free use of Mr. Fyfe's comments and interpretations, which is justified by the fact that Mr. Fyfe, in addition to being chairman of a munitions tribunal, is a judge of His Majesty's courts in Glasgow. 2 Cole : Labour in War Time. 3 Mary McArthur : The Woman Worker, January, 1916, p. 5. 86 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 87 the Labor party were consulted at every stage of its preparation and enactment and are, indeed, largely responsible for the form and substance of the acts. Whether or not, viewed from a labor standpoint, the Munitions Act be considered a wise or an unwise piece of legislation, it can not be truthfully said that it was en- acted in defiance of labor or without giving their representatives an opportunity to consider it and to suggest amendments. As a carefully drawn and consistently prepared piece of legis- lation, not much can be said for the original Munitions Act or for the government's clumsy method of amendment. As Mr. Fyfe says: It is to be regretted that the form the Amending Act (of 1916) took was not the total repeal of the original act, and the reenactment of its clauses along with the amendments in an entirely new act. 1 In many respects the act seems to have been drafted backwards, since portions of Part III deal with matters necessary to an un- derstanding of Parts I and II, and Part II contains sections and clauses which, logically, should come before Part I. In the following abstract of the main provisions of the acts I have not attempted to follow the order in which the various sec- tions appear in the parliamentary measure. The acts are frankly stated to be emergency legislation; to " have effect only so long as the office of Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of Munitions exists," 2 and the act creating the Ministry declared that it should cease to exist at a period not later than twelve months after the conclusion of war. It is also provided that the obligations contained in Schedule II, whereby the owners of establishments agree to restore prewar conditions among their employes, shall continue to be binding on such owners for twelve months after the end of the war. 2 The act is divided into three parts. Part I deals with differ- ences which may arise between employers and employes and the modes of settling them. Part II deals with what are known as 1 Fyfe, op. cit., 1st ed., p. 2. 2 Sec. 20 (2), Fyfe, 2d ed., p. 83. 88 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION " controlled establishments," rates of wages and limitation of profits in such establishments, restrictions on the right to employ and be employed on munitions work, conditions under which workers may leave or be discharged from such service, and the conditions under which female labor may be employed on muni- tions work. Part III (made up largely of amendments) deals with the power of the Minister of Munitions to regulate or re- strict the work of any factory or to remove machinery to any other factory or to control the supply of materials for the purpose of increasing the production of munitions. It also deals with matters of inspection, with information to be furnished by employers, with munitions tribunals, with penalties, and with the definition of terms used in the act. The Munitions Acts may be considered as an extension of the Defense of the Realm Acts, especially of those portions which deal with the production of munitions. 1 They authorize the Ad- miralty or Army Council or Minister of Munitions to take pos- session of and use for the purpose of naval or military service any factory, workshop or plant -and to regulate or restrict the carrying on of any work or the employment of any workmen therein, or to remove the equipment therefrom with a view to increasing the production of munitions, or to regulate and control the supply of materials that may be required for articles for use in war. 2 In order that the Minister of Munitions may have at hand the information necessary to enable him to decide on the availability of any establishment for the production of munitions, the owner of any establishment in operation may be required to furnish to the Minister any information requested by the latter as to the persons employed and the nature of their work, the machinery used, the costs of production and other relevant matters, and to submit his premises and books to inspection by authorized in- spectors in order that they may obtain such information or other- 1 Manuals of Emergency Legislation; Defense of the Realm Manual, pp. 8-9. 2 Defense of the Realm Act, sec. 1 (2) (a). Defense of the Realm Manual, p. 3 (note). Munitions of War Acts, Part III, sec. 10. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 73-74. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 89 wise determine the availability of the establishment for munitions work. 1 MEANING OF MUNITIONS WORK The term " munitions work " has been given a very wide mean- ing by the revision of the act and by the interpretations placed upon it by the appeal tribunals. The amended act makes it in- clude not only arms, ammunition and the like, but " any other articles or parts of articles intended or adapted for use in war " 2 and the appeal tribunals have interpreted this to mean anything " suitable for use in war." This does not mean, however, that anything which is " capable of use " in war is to be covered by the term. 3 Mr. Justice Atkin, in explaining the meaning of the phrase " intended or adapted for use in war," said : " Adapted for use " means, I think, " suitable for use " ; but it means in the context something more than merely capable of use. I think the word denotes fitness in some high degree to be determined on the facts in each particular case, taking into consideration, amongst other things, the extent to which articles of the particular class are in fact employed in war, the probability or otherwise of articles of the class in question being required by the military authorities, and the importance or unimportance of the articles in " furthering the efficient manufacture, transport and supply of munitions for the present war." I think it plain, however, that in considering this part of the definition the actual use, contemplated or intended, of the article is inconclusive and may be irrelevant; if its use in war is intended, the article will fall within the express words. " Adapted " must to my mind, when used disjunctively from "intended," convey some meaning independ- ent of the intended use. 4 It was accordingly held that the repair of railway wagons be- longing to a colliery was " munitions work," since these wagons, though not at the time being used for war purposes, were " ar- ticles adapted for use in war." 5 The act, as amended, provides that " munitions work " shall 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 11, Amend. Act, 1916, sec. 16 and 17. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 74-75. 2 Amend. Act, 1916, sec. 9 (a). Fyfe, p. 82. 3 In this respect Fyfe. p. 6, seems to have erred in his interpretation of Mr. Justice Atkin's decision. 4 Shaw v. Lincoln Waggon and Engine Co., Ltd. (1916 A.M.T. 11), Chartres, Judicial Interpretation of the Munitions of War Acts, p. 2. 5 Shaw v. Lincoln, etc. Chartres, p. 2. Fyfe, pp. 219-220. 90 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION also include the construction, alteration or repairs of building machinery and plant for naval or military purposes, including the erection of houses to accommodate munitions workers; the con- struction, repair and maintenance of docks, etc., where such work is certified by the Admiralty to be necessary for the successful prosecution of the war, and work necessary for the supply of light, heat, water or power, tramway facilities or fire protection where the Minister of Munitions certifies that such supply is of importance for carrying on munitions work. 1 The act does not specifically declare the production of raw materials or the mining of coal or ore as munitions work. No formal order of the Min- ister has, as yet, been issued to include such work and the appeal tribunals have declined to pass upon it in advance, 2 but it may be noted that formal orders have been issued specifying the manu- facture of such articles as lead compounds, constructional steel, lime and all materials wholly or partially manufactured from wool as munitions work. 3 The Minister has also recommended employers to refrain from encouraging miners to transfer their services to munitions factories, and to assist men who had been engaged in coal mining to return to the mines if they desired to do so. 4 Doubts having arisen as to the meaning of the words " work- man " and " workmen " under the original act, the revised act declared that these expressions shall include not only persons whose usual occupation consists in manual labor, but also foremen, clerks, typists, draughtsmen and other persons whose usual occupation consists wholly or mainly in work other than manual labor. 5 CONTROLLED ESTABLISHMENTS We have already observed that many trade unionists, especially those engaged in the engineering and shipbuilding trades, when urged by the government to abandon for the period of the war their rules restricting production and employment, met this pro- 1 Munitions of War Amend. Act, 1916, sec. 9. Fyfe, op. cit., p. 82. 2 Chartres, op. cit., p. 4. and note. 3 Fyfe, pp. 181-182. 4 Circular letter, 71, October 16, 1915, cited by Fyfe, p. 8. 5 Munitions of War Amend. Act, 1916, sec. 12. Fyfe, p. 83. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 91 posal with the counter demand that, in case this were done, em- ployers surrender their right to excess profits resulting from government work. The supplemental agreement entered into with representatives of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, following the Treasury Conference of March, 1915, shows that the government recognized the justice of this claim, and contains its promise to limit profits in important establishments engaged in the production of munitions. The principal method by which this promise was carried out was through the agency of what are known as " controlled establishments " dealt with primarily in Part II of the Munitions Acts. Not all establishments engaged on " munitions work " are " controlled establishments," although the Minister of Munitions may, by order, declare any establishment where " munitions work " is carried on to be a " controlled establishment." * The effects of making an establishment a " controlled establishment " are fourfold : (a) Four-fifths of the net profits of such an establishment, over and above the average profits for two years pre- ceding the outbreak of the war, are to be paid into the Exchequer. 2 This means that if an employer had made on an average 5 per cent profits on his busi- ness during the two years prior to the outbreak of the war he is now entitled to retain only one-fifth of any excess above that amount. The remainder is to be paid to the Exchequer. Certain allowances are made, however, which probably in practice result in bringing the amount retained somewhat above the one-fifth excess contemplated. (6) No changes in the rates of wages or salary of any em- ploye in such establishment shall be made until the proposed change has been submitted to the Minister of Munitions, who may withhold his consent. Either the Minister or the owner of the establishment may 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 4. Amend. Act, 1916, sec. 1. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 62-63. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 4(1); sec. 5 (1), (2). Fyfe, pp. 63, 66. 92 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION then require that the matter be submitted to arbitra- tion in the manner provided by the act. 1 By an amendment made to the act in 1917 the undertaking which the owner of a controlled establishment was deemed to have entered into was made to include an undertaking not to change piece prices, time allowances or bonuses on output or the rates or prices payable under any other system of payment by re- sults unless this change was made by agreement between the owner and his workmen or under certain conditions by direction of the Minister. This provision was not to apply, however, to changes in the rates of wages made by order of the Minister in the case of female workers employed on munition work or in the case of wages paid in shipbuilding yards where special rules were made applicable. 2 (c) " Any rule, practice, or custom not having the force of law which tends to restrict production or employ- ment shall be suspended in the establishment," but the owner is deemed to have entered into an under- taking to restore such rules, etc., at the close of the war, and to give preference in employment to former employes. In order that this undertaking may be carried out, this part of the act continues, as already mentioned, for twelve months after the close of the war. The Board of Trade is made the judge as to whether any rule, etc., tends to restrict production or employment. 3 The rules, practices and customs to which reference is here made are those dealt with in the Treasury agreement and relate to such matters as the restrictions imposed by the unions on the in- troduction of machines, the rules forbidding women or semi-skilled men from doing skilled work and the limitations on hours demanded by the unions, the use of nonunion labor, etc. Not all the rules which the 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 4 (2) ; 1916, sec. 2. Fyfe, p. 63. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sec. 8. British Industrial Experience, vol. 1, p. 263. 3 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 4 (3), (4) ; sec. 20. See also schedule 2, Fyfe, pp. 64, 83, 84-85. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 93 act abrogated, however, were those laid down by trade unions. In one case dealt with by the High Court of Justice an employer who had maintained a nonunion shop was unwilling to employ members of a certain trade union, but the court held that a prac- tice " which does tend to prevent workmen from entering employment who otherwise could reasonably be employed " was one of the practices which tended to hinder production and was therefore aimed at by the Munitions Act. (d) Employers and employes in any such establishment be- come subject to any regulations made by the Min- ister of Munitions for that establishment, for the purpose of maintaining efficiency and discipline. They are also bound by his orders giving directions as to rates of wages, hours of labor or conditions of employment, so far as those relate to semi-skilled or unskilled workers doing work which before the war had usually been done by skilled labor. 1 Thus it appears that the government has succeeded, as far as the language of the law is concerned, in tying together the limita- tion of profits in munitions establishments and the removal of the restrictive rules of the trade unions, while it seeks to bind the employer to a restoration of the prewar customs at the close of the war. Although the term " controlled establishments " is not specifically limited to the engineering and shipbuilding trades, it seems to have been in the minds of the framers of these sections of the original act to limit the operation of them to these trades and thus meet the issues raised at the Treasury Conference by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Later when the 1916 amendments to the act were being considered, it was apparently deemed best to give a broader meaning to the term "controlled establishments." In February, 1917, the number of " controlled establishments " in the United Kingdom was 4,285 with approximately two mil- lion workers employed therein, twenty per cent of whom were 1 Munitions of War Amend. Acts, 1916, sec. 7. Fyfe, op. cit., p. 65. 94: BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION women and girls. Since that date the proportion of female labor has increased considerably, but no figures are available which show the extent of the increase. Although the undertaking given by employers to restore pre- war conditions in their establishments at the close of the war, as contained in schedule two, would seem to have been sufficiently broad to cover the exclusion of nonunionists where such ex- clusion had been the rule, unionists were apparently not satisfied with the statement and, in the amended act, succeeded in having this point specifically mentioned. 1 MUNITIONS VOLUNTEERS Mention has already been made of the agitation for industrial conscription which was taking place in England during the spring of 1915. Mr. Lloyd George's earlier speeches indicated that he favored the idea, but he later expressed himself as not being in sympathy 'with this demand. He is quoted as having said at a conference with representatives of the unions on June 10 : They talk about the conscription of labor. I don't want conscription of labor at all. All I want to do is to be able to place men where they are most needed to increase the output of munitions. 2 While the Munitions Act does not provide for " conscription of labor," it does impose such restrictions on the employment and mobility of laborers who volunteer to work in controlled estab- lishments as to give this employment more or less the character of military service. Munitions volunteers, as they are called, enter into an agreement with the Minister to work at any con- trolled establishment to which they are assigned and to remain there for the period of the war, or for at least six months. If they fail to comply with the undertaking they become liable to penalties. 3 Subject to penalties for disobedience employers are forbidden to dissuade their employes from volunteering to do munitions work or to retain in their employment munitions volun- teers who have received notice from the Minister of Munitions 1 Munitions of War Amend. Act, 1916, sec. IS. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 64-65. 2 Quoted by Cole : Labour in War Time, p. 213. 3 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 6 (1). Fyfe, p. 67. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 95 that they are to work in some other establishment. 1 They are also forbidden to discharge from their employment munitions volunteers within a period of six weeks of the date of their agree- ment with the Minister unless " there was reasonable cause " for such dismissal. 2 The usual mode of employing munitions volunteers is for the owner of a controlled establishment to make application to the manager of the central labor exchange for war munitions volun- teers, stating the number desired, the occupations and special qualifications, the wages and hours of work and other conditions, and sign an agreement to employ the workers who may be assigned to him only on war munitions work and to pay them the district rate of wages for their work and to meet the other condi- tions applicable to munitions volunteers. His application must also contain the declaration that the employer has not already in his employ on private work men who are capable or who can be made capable for the work in question and that the local labor ex- change has not succeeded in obtaining such men for him. 3 The munitions volunteers are entitled to (a) the district rate of wages; (b) the sum necessary to make up the difference (if any) between the district rate and that received by the workman be- fore his enrolment as a munitions volunteer; (c) traveling ex- penses, including railway fare at the commencement and com- pletion of the work, and where necessary subsistence allowance at the rate of 2s. 6d. per day for seven days in the week. It is clearly understood that the subsistence allowance is not intended to enable any workman to make a pecuniary profit. When the workman's residence is within daily traveling dis- tance of his place of work, he receives the cost of workman's tickets and, if the distance traveled exceeds one-half hour each way, he is paid one hour's traveling time per day at the rate of time and a half. 4 The munitions volunteers plan was adopted by the government at the suggestion of the National Advisory Committee, made up 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 6 (2). Fyfe, op. cit., p. 68. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1916, sec. 3. Fyfe, p. 68. 3 Form W.M.V. 19. * Ibid., p. 4. 96 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION of trade union leaders, as an alternative for conscription of labor. The plan was introduced even before the enactment of the Muni- tions Act, 1915, and 90,000 men had registered as munitions volunteers by July 10 of that year. There are no figures available which show registrations after that date. In November, 1916, the plan was extended by the trade card exemption system, under which whole unions enrolled as munitions volunteers. The successful operation of the plan was hindered, however, by employers through patriotic motives and by other obstacles so that less use was made of the plan than had been expected. The plan has been revived and extended, however, since the abolition of leaving certificates in the fall of 1917. THE DILUTION OF LABOR Much has been said in the discussion of war labor legislation concerning the " dilution of labor." This apt expression has reference to the introduction of semi-skilled or female labor to do work which before the war was usually performed by skilled labor. Such substitution in the munitions trades had already been proceeding at a fairly rapid rate before the government directly interested itself in the question. The Board of Trade estimated that in February, 1915, the increase in the number of females in the engineering trades was 26.4 per cent over the 21,000 which the census of 1911 reported as employed in those trades. The number of men in these trades, on the other hand, showed a con- traction of 9.1 per cent as compared to 1911. 1 The unionists in the engineering trades offered strenuous op- position to the introduction of women and of unskilled labor into these well organized trades, especially where efforts were made to use this labor to accomplish what was regarded as skilled work. We have already noted that the government yielded to this op- position to the extent of making a separate agreement with the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in March, 1915, to the effect that in the case of the introduction of new inventions which were not in existence in the prewar period the class of workmen to be employed on 1 Edith Abbott : " The War and Women's Work in England," Journal of Political Economy, July, 1917, vol. 25, p. 662 . THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 97 this work after the war should be determined according to the practice pre- vailing before the war in the case of the class of work most nearly analogous. Other clauses in the general agreement provided (1) that at the close of the war priority of employment should be given to workmen employed at the beginning of the war and to those serving with the colors; and (2) that the standard rates should be paid to semi-skilled and female laborers called upon to perform work which had been skilled labor. These safeguards were suf- ficient, it was believed, to cause the displacement in the skilled trades of female and unskilled laborers at the close of the war. The Munitions Act of 1915 undertook to make definite these promises by Schedule 2 and by its scheme of controlled estab- lishments. At the same time it gave the utmost encouragement to employers to make use of semi-skilled male labor and of female labor wherever it was possible to increase the output of muni- tions thereby. With the exception of the obligations imposed on owners of controlled establishments by Schedule 2, no special precautions in regard to the dilution of labor are found in the Munitions of War Act, 1915. From the first, however, the dilution scheme caused uneasiness in the minds of unionists and in order to secure their cooperation, the government in September, 1915, appointed a joint committee representing the National Labor Advisory Committee (three of whose members were included) and the Ministry of Munitions, with additional members including Mr. W. H. Beveridge, Di- rector of the Labor Exchanges, and Miss Mary Macarthur, Sec- retary of the National Federation of Women Workers, to advise and assist the Ministry in regard to the transference of skilled labor and the introduction of semi-skilled and unskilled labor for munitions work, so as to secure the most productive use of all available labor supplies in the manufacture of munitions of war. 1 In October, 1915, this committee, known as the Munitions Labor Supply Committee, drew up a series of recommendations in regard to the dilution of labor, and these " recommendations " were issued to employers in October as Circular L2 and Cir- cular L3. i Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 70. 98 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION EMPLOYMENT AND REMUNERATION OF WOMEN AND UNSKILLED LABOR Circular L2 dealt with the " employment and remuneration of women on munitions work of a class which prior to the war was not recognized as women's work in districts where such work was customarily carried On." It dealt with rates of wages and allowances for overtime and holiday work, conditions under which women might be employed on piece work or the premium bonus system and contained a recognition of the principle " that on systems of payment by results equal payment shall be made to women as to the men for an equal amount of work done." After the amendment of the act in 1916, the government made the adoption of the provisions of Circular L2 mandatory. Circular L3 related to the " employment and remuneration of semi-skilled and unskilled men on munition work of a class which prior to the war was customarily undertaken by skilled labor." Originally issued as mere " recommendations " of the Minister of Munitions, the provisions of this circular were, after the Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, had been passed, issued as government orders. The " general " clauses were as follows : 1. Operations on which skilled men are at present employed but which by reason of their character can be performed by semi-skilled or unskilled labor, may be done by such labor during the period of the war. 2. Where semi-skilled or unskilled male labor is employed on work iden- tical with that customarily, undertaken by skilled labor, the time rates and piece prices and premium bonus times shall be the same as customarily obtained for the operations when performed by skilled labor. 3. Where skilled men are at present employed they shall not be displaced by less skilled labor unless other skilled employment is offered to them there or elsewhere. 4. Piece work prices and premium bonus time allowances, after they have been established, shall not be altered unless the means or method of manu- facture are changed. 5. Overtime, night shift, Sunday and holiday allowances shall be paid to such machine men on the same basis as to skilled men. The circular also recommended time ratings for the manu- THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 99 facture of complete shell and fuses and cartridge cases, and these were likewise later converted into orders. 1 When Parliament came to amend the Munitions Act in Janu- ary, 1916, it gave the Minister of Munitions power to give directions as to the rate of wages, hours of labor or conditions of employment of semi-skilled and unskilled men employed in any controlled establishment or munitions work, being work of a class which, prior to the war, was customarily undertaken by skilled labor, or as to the time rates for the manufacture of complete shells and fuses and cartridge cases in any controlled establishment in which such manufacture was not customary prior to the war. 2 In the case of female workers " employed on or in connection with munitions work in any establishment " which had been brought under orders of the Minister of Munitions, the Min- ister was (subject to the provisions of the Factory and Work- shops Acts, 1901 to 1911) empowered "to give directions as to the rate of wages or as to hours of labor or conditions of employment." 3 It will be noted that the Minister's control extended much farther in the case of female workers than in the case of male workers, where it was limited to controlled establishments and to semi-skilled and unskilled laborers performing for the time being skilled work. The reasons for this greater control in the case of female labor are not entirely clear, but are probably due to the fact that the men were better organized in the skilled trades and felt able to control the situation in that class of work, and also to the fact that government control of the hours, condi- tions of employment and even the wages of women workers was something which had long since won recognition in Great Britain. It is probably also true that organized labor has less objection to the introduction of female labor into the skilled trades during the period of the war than it has to the introduction of semi- skilled male labor to do skilled work, believing that female labor will be much easier to displace " since the line of sex demar- 1 See Fyfe, op. cit., Appendix 6, pp. 166-167. 2 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 7. Fyfe, p. 65. 3 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 6. Fyfe, p. 72. 100 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION cation is clearer than any line based upon classes of men." 1 The government has undertaken to deal with the question of women's wages and work not only by making Circular L2 man- datory but by the appointment of a special tribunal with Lyndon Macassey as chairman and with two women among its six mem- bers, whose functions are to act as an arbitration tribunal to which the Minister may refer differences relating to the hours, wages and working conditions of women, and to advise the Minister in his dealings with these matters. The general tendency of the regulations has been to increase women's wages, but many diffi- culties have arisen in the effort to see that women were paid at the same rates for the same work as was performed by men when automatic machinery has been introduced. The Amending Act of 1917 broadens greatly the power of the Minister of Munitions as to the regulation of wages. If he con- siders it necessary in order to maintain the output of munitions to give directions as to the remuneration of laborers employed in controlled establishments on time rates, he may, subject to any agreement which has been entered into between employers and the workmen with his consent, give such directions as he may consider necessary. A violation of these orders is punishable in like manner as violations of an award made in case of a settlement of differences between the parties. 2 Another section of the 1917 Amending Act provides that where an award as to wages, hours or conditions of employment has been made under Part I of the act of 1915, or in pursuance of an agreement between work people engaged in the manufacture of munitions, and the Minister of Munitions is satisfied that the award is binding upon employers employing the majority of the employes in any branch of trade, he may direct that the award shall be binding on all or any employers and persons in the trade, either without modifications or with such modifications as shall insure that no employer shall be enabled to pay less wages than are required to be paid by parties subject to the original award. 3 1 Kirkaldy : Labour, Finance and the War, p. 136. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sec. 1. British Industrial Experience, vol. 1, p. 260. 3 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sec. 5. British Industrial Experience, vol. 1, p. 262. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 101 RESTRICTIONS ON THE MOBILITY OF LABOR For several months prior to the enactment of the Munitions Act of 1915, the government had endeavored by means of an Order in Council dated April 29, 1915, to prevent the indiscrim- inate migration of labor needed in munition plants. The method of prevention was to forbid employers in factories engaged on munitions work to advertise for or otherwise seek to induce persons employed in other factories on government work to leave their employment in order to accept work in the establishment of this particular employer. Penalties were provided for enticing labor, and employers in munitions establishments desiring to secure additional laborers were forbidden to take any steps other- wise than to notify vacancies to one of the labor exchanges under the supervision of the Board of Trade. ' This mode of restriction failed to accomplish its purpose since it did not apply to employers on other than munitions work; it did not prevent laborers in munitions plants from voluntarily leaving their places of employment to secure work elsewhere, and it did not furnish any method by which the offense of enticing laborers could be proved before the courts. Accordingly, under the Munitions of War Act of 1915, an effort was made to deal in a more direct way with restrictions on the mobility of labor. By section 7 of this act employers were forbidden to give employ- ment to a workman who had been employed on, or in connection with munitions work within a period of six weeks preceding' his application for work unless the laborer held a " leaving certifi- cate " from the employer by whom he was last so employed or from a munitions tribunal to which an appeal might be taken in cases where his employer had refused to grant such a certificate. Munitions tribunals, set up under another provision of the act, were authorized to grant such " leaving certificates " whenever they had reason to believe that the refusal of the employer to grant such a certificate had been unreasonable. More dissatisfaction arose from the operation of this section of the Munitions Act, 1915, than from any other section of the LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF t, ALJFOHMA SANTA BARBARA 102 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION act. Laborers complained that the restrictions on their right to seek work in other munitions plants than those in which they were for the time being employed were being taken advantage of by employers to hinder their employment under conditions best not only for themselves but for the country. New munitions plants were being established all over the country and the services of skilled workers were in great demand as foremen and man- agers and for giving instructions to unskilled laborers. Employ- ers by their refusal to release workers to take such places were preventing the skilled laborers of the country from being employed in the most advantageous ways. Another ground of complaint was that employers were using their, power to refuse " leaving certificates " as a means of discipline. Since laborers could not be lawfully employed for a period of six weeks after they left their employment unless they possessed " leaving certifi- cates " they were forced either to remain in their present situa- tions or to accept the penalty of idleness. It was also said that employers in granting " leaving certificates " endorsed them with comments on the conduct of their holders and thus made it more difficult to secure employment. With a view to remedying these difficulties, as well as to over- come certain difficulties in interpretation of such words and phrases as " workmen," " munitions work," etc., the Amendment Act of January, 1916, substituted for Section 7 of the original act a new section (No. 5), which made more specific the obliga- tions of munitions tribunals to grant " leaving certificates " where they were unreasonably withheld by employers. They might also require the employer who had refused such a certificate to pay to the laborer a sum not exceeding 5, unless the laborer was guilty of misconduct, for the purpose of securing his dismissal or discharge. This penalty was also made applicable to the employer of a workman who applies for a certificate on the ground that he has for a period of more than two days been given no opportunity of earning wages, or who leaves his employment on account of conduct on the part of the employer, or any agent of the employer, which would justify the immediate termination by the workman of his contract of service in like manner as if he had been dis- missed or discharged by his employer. ' THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 103 The workman was also under the provision of this section entitled to a week's notice of intention to dismiss him, or (in lieu of such a notice) to a week's wages, unless the employer reported such dismissal within twenty-four hours, under rules made by the Minister of Munitions, claiming that the work was of a tem- porary or discontinuous character or that the workman had been guilty of misconduct, and a munitions tribunal might be called upon to determine the legitimacy of this excuse and might require the employer to pay a sum, not exceeding 5, to the workman where the tribunal found that there was no reason or cause for dismissing him without a week's notice. In spite of the improvements in the mode of administration of the section relating to " leaving certificates " made by the amendment of 1916, this section of the act continued to give great dissatisfaction to laborers employed in munitions plants. One of the reasons for this dissatisfaction is said to be the fact that although the act did not apply to workers engaged in civil estab- lishments, employers in such establishments hesitated to employ workers who did not have " leaving certificates," in view of the penalties imposed upon employers hiring workers from munitions plants. " In other words," says Mr. Fyfe, " a ' leaving certifi- cate ' has come to be recognized in the industrial world as a pass- port to employment." An effort was made to meet this difficulty by a rule promulgated by the Minister of Munitions to the effect that a worker might ask from a local munitions tribunal an exemption certificate which would state that in the opinion of that tribunal the work- man had not been employed on munitions work within the past six weeks. The munitions tribunals were authorized by the act to grant a " leaving certificate " to a workman who desired to leave his work in order to undertake work in which his skill or other personal qualifications could be employed to a greater advantage to the national interests, or where he had completed a term of apprenticeship and desired to obtain the full standard rate of wages, but these matters were left entirely to the judgment of the munitions tribunals and in all such cases the workman was 104 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION supposed to remain in his employment until the question had been passed upon. It is possible, for example (said one of the appeal tribunals), that a man employed as a laborer might be indispensable in one establishment while his services, even in skilled work, might be of minor importance, from a national point of view, in another establishment. The question is, where can he render best service? 1 Although the possibility of appealing their cases to the muni- tions tribunals enabled the workmen to secure their " leaving certificates " on reasonable grounds, the delays in such appeals and other causes for complaint led Parliament in the amendment of the Munitions Act, dated August 21, 1917, to give to the Minister of Munitions power to repeal the provision of the act relating to " leaving certificates " upon his being satisfied that this could be done consistently with the national interests. In the event such section was repealed certain " alternative provisions are to have effect, prohibiting the employment of the workmen concerned on work other than certain munitions work, except with the consent of the minister and, subject to certain exceptions, a contract of service between an employer, and a workman employed on or in connection with munitions work is not to be determinable by either party except by a week's notice or on payment of a sum equal to an average week's wages under the contract." 2 Acting in accordance with this amendment, the government issued an order abolishing leaving certificates on and after Octo- ber 15, 1917. Workmen may now leave their places of employ- ment to engage on war work elsewhere on giving a week's notice or such other notice as is required by their contract. A return to the war munitions volunteers scheme accompanies this abolition and the scheme has been extended to all men eligible to enroll, not as hitherto limited to those in certain trades and engaged on certain classes of work. The National Advisory 1 Scottish Tube Company, Ltd. v. McGillivray, 1916, Scot. App. Rep., p. 19. Fyfe, op. cit., p. 19. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sees. 2, 3 and 4. British Industrial Ex- perience, vol. 1, pp. 261-262. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 105 Committee has voiced its approval of this plan by urging work- men not to change their employment " without definite and sub- stantial grounds and to show that the output of munitions will not suffer from the abolition of the leaving certificates." * ARMY RESERVE MUNITIONS WORKERS In addition to the munitions volunteers from civil life, the rules adopted by the Ministry of Munitions provide for the regulation of the employment of men from the army who have been temporarily released from the service in order that they may be employed in the production of munitions of war. We have already observed that it was not appreciated at the outbreak of the war that the success of military operations would be so dependent upon the increase of munitions that it would be unwise to allow men skilled in the production of munitions to enlist. Accordingly men from the engineering, mining and other essential war industries were allowed to enlist as freely as men from other trades until, after some months, the country came to a realization of the need of preventing further enlistments from these industries and steps began to be taken to secure release from the colors of men whose skill was required for munitions work. These released soldiers are known as army reserve munitions workers and, in general, the terms of their employment, as regards wages, traveling allowances, subsistence allowances, etc., are the same as for munitions 2 volunteers, but in addition to these regular allowances, there are supplemental allowances varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s. per week for soldiers having four or more children under fourteen (male) or sixteen (female) years of age. All these additions to the regular current wages of the district or for the job are paid by employers, but are recoverable by them from the Ministry of Munitions. The soldier who has been released from military service to enter a munitions establishment enters into an agreement with the Minister of Munitions to remain in such employment during 1 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 356. 2 Terms of Agreement, A.R.M.V. 1 and 2. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 193-195. 106 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION the war or " for so long as is required by the Minister," and the agreement includes the following clause : I understand that I am liable to return to military service at any time that I cease to be employed by any firm named by the Minister of Munitions, or if I am ordered to report myself for service with the colors by the com- petent military authority. 1 Since November, 1916, the army reserve munition workers have included not only men released from the colors but men who have enlisted and who are unfit for military service. These men on being sent to the factories frequently make it possible to release for military service men employed therein. By February 23, 1917, over 12,000 men had started work under this plan and more than half of them were substitutes for men who had entered the service. MUNITIONS TRIBUNALS The munitions tribunals to which reference has several times been made are of two classes, which the act designates as first class and second class, but which are usually called " general " and " local " tribunals. 2 The United Kingdom has been divided into 10 divisions 7 in England, 1 in Scotland and 2 in Ireland in each of which a general tribunal has been set up. Each division has in turn been divided into districts, each of which has its local tribunal. The general munitions tribunals deal with the more important offenses under the acts. These are, generally speaking, of two classes : (a) Offenses arising in connection with trade disputes i.e., offenses under Part I of the act of 1915, and (b) all other offenses under the acts outside the scope of local munitions tribunals. The offenses arising in connection with trade disputes are of three kinds: 1 Terms of Agreement, A.R.M.V. 1 and 2. Fyfe, op cit., pp. 193-195. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 15. Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 18. Fyfe, pp. 50-51, 77-78, Appendix 4, pp. 110-144. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 107 (1) Failure to comply with an award, (2) the locking out by an em- ployer of persons employed unless the difference has been reported to the Board of Trade and unless three weeks have elapsed since the report, without the Board of Trade referring the difference for settlement, (3) the tak- ing part in a strike unless the conditions set out in the previous paragraph have been fulfilled. 1 The other offenses dealt with by the general tribunals comprise (1) the employment of labor in violation of that provision of the act (now abolished) which declared that the laborer who had left his employment without a " leaving certificate " should not be employed within a period of six weeks after he had left his place of work; (2) failure to comply with any directions given by the Minister as to the rate of wages, hours of labor or conditions of employment of women workers or unskilled or semi- skilled men; and (3) wilful delay or obstruction of an inspector appointed by the Minister of Munitions in the exercise of his power or failure to give information or produce documents re- quired by the inspector. 2 The local munitions tribunals deal generally with (1) com- plaints that any person has acted in contravention of, or failed to comply with, regulations made applicable to controlled estab- lishments in which he is either an employer or is employed; (2) breaches by war munitions volunteers of their undertaking to work in a controlled establishment; (3) complaints by a work- man that he has been dismissed from his employment without reasonable cause; (4) breaches by an employer of his undertaking to employ a person temporarily released from naval or military service or a war munitions volunteer on a class of work desig- nated by the Minister of Munitions; (5) complaints by workman that an employer had unreasonably refused or neglected to issue a certificate that the workman is free to accept other employ- ment; (6) complaints by workman that he has been dismissed without a week's notice or without the wages to be given in lieu of notice; and (7) breaches by employers of the rules (now abrogated) relating to " leaving certificates." 3 1 Munitions of War Acts, 1915 and 1916, Munitions Tribunals (Pamphlet issued by Minister of Munitions, January, 1917), p. 1. 2 Ibid., p. 2. Ibid., p. 3. 108 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The general and the local tribunals are constituted in the same way. There is a chairman, appointed by the Minister of Muni- tions or by the Admiralty, and two or more assessors, one-half chosen by the Minister from a panel of employers or their repre- sentatives and the other half chosen by the Minister from a panel of workmen or their representatives. 1 Chairmen of general tribunals are usually barristers or solicitors and of local tribunals are usually chairmen of courts of referees under the National Insurance Act. The amended act (1916) gives a right of appeal from a deci- sion of either a general or a local munitions tribunal to a judge of the highest law courts in cases which involve " a question of law or a question of mixed law and fact " or on any other ground sanctioned by rules of procedure. The amended act (1916) also provides that in the munitions tribunal the chairman, before giving his decision, shall consult with the assessors and in all cases where they are agreed he shall in his decision give effect to their opinion, except in questions which appear to him to be questions of law. It is further pro- vided that, in cases affecting female labor, at least one of the assessors representing the workers shall be a woman. 2 The penalties provided by the act for failure on the part of workmen to comply with the orders of the Minister, and which the munitions tribunals alone were empowered to impose, no longer include imprisonment. 3 Moderate fines may be imposed and in case they are not paid the munitions tribunal has the power to order the employer of the penalized workman to deduct the fine in instalments from the wages of the workman and to give an accounting for such deductions. 4 Imprisonment may be the penalty imposed by the criminal courts, however, for tamper- 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. IS. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 51, 77-78. 2 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 18 (3). Fyfe, op. cit., p. 79. 3 Imprisonment was inflicted for nonpayment of a fine by a general tribunal in Scotland early in 1915, but the decision created great ill feeling among laborers. The imprisoned man was released by order of the Minister before completing his term and when the act was amended the power to imprison was taken away from the tribunal. * Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 15 (4). Fyfe, p. 80. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 109 ing with certificates, or disclosing information obtained for the use of the Minister of Munitions. 1 The number of things which employers are forbidden to do and which if done by them render them liable to fine are more numerous than those specified as violations by workmen. 2 Like workmen, employers and others are liable to prosecution in the criminal courts for granting false certificates, tampering with leaving certificates, giving false information to the government, etc. 3 PROHIBITION OF STRIKES The Munitions Act, we have observed, was enacted at a time when there had been a recrudescence of strikes following a short interval of industrial peace, and it was intended, among other things, to put an end to stoppages of work in the munitions industry. The act accordingly forbids strikes and lock-outs in establishments engaged on munitions work until the industrial difference has been referred to the Board of Trade * and twenty- one days have elapsed without the Board of Trade having taken steps to secure a settlement in ways provided by the act. 5 There are several methods (the choice between them being optional with the Board of Trade) for settling industrial differ- ences when they have been referred to the Board of Trade for purpose of securing a settlement. (1) The Board of Trade may itself "take any steps which seem to them expedient to promote a settlement of the difference." 6 (2) The Board of Trade may, "if in their opinion suitable means for settlement already exist in pursuance of any agreement between employers and persons employed," 1 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 17 (2), sec. 14. Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 75-76. 2 Ibid., pp. 43-48. s Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 15 (4). Fyfe, p. 80. 4 Since the establishment of the Ministry of Labor it performs the func- tions ascribed to the Board of Trade in this chapter. 5 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 2. Fyfe, p. 61. 6 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 1 (2). Fyfe, pp. 59-60. 110 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION refer the difference " for settlement in accordance with those means," and if the settlement is unduly delayed, it may annul the reference and substitute any of the other means. 1 (3) The Board of Trade may refer the difference to the Com- mittee on Production, this being the same committee which was appointed by the government on February 4, 1915. (4) The Board of Trade may refer the difference to a single arbitrator selected by the parties to the difference, or if they fail to agree, by the Board of Trade. (5) The Board of Trade may refer the difference to " a court of arbitration consisting of an equal number of persons representing employers and persons representing workmen with a chairman appointed by the Board of Trade." 2 (6) The Minister of Munitions may constitute a special class of arbitration tribunals to deal with differences relating to the wages and working conditions of female workers employed on munitions work or those involving semi- skilled and unskilled workers employed on munitions work in controlled establishments and the Board of Trade may refer any such differences for settlement to these tri- bunals. The Minister may also ask these tribunals for advice " as to what directions are to be given by him " in regard to these classes of workers. Whenever the differences relate to female workers the tribunals must include in their membership one or more women. 3 The arbitration awards are not subject to appeal, are binding on all parties and may be retrospective. 4 A failure to comply with an award makes the guilty party liable to a fine not exceed- ing 5 for each day during which the noncompliance continues, and (if the guilty party is an employer) for each employe in respect of whom the failure to comply takes place. 5 The same 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 1 (2), (3). Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 59-60. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 1 (2), schedule 1. Fyfe, pp. 60-84. 3 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sees. 8, 6 and 7. Fyfe, pp. 35, 60-61, 65, 72. 4 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 1 (4). Fyfe, p. 60. 6 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 14 (a). Fyfe, p. 76. THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACTS 111 penalties apply to violations in the shape of strikes or lockouts. 1 The Arbitration Act of 1889 does not apply to disputes covered by the Munitions Act, 2 but all " differences as to rates of wages, hours of work, or otherwise as to terms or conditions of or affect- ing employment on or in connection with munitions work " are subject to the arbitration provisions of the Munitions Act whether or not such differences have resulted in strikes or lockouts. 3 The arbitration provisions of the Munitions Act are applicable not only to munitions work, but may be made applicable " in con- nection with any work of any description " if they are made applicable by the government on the ground that the existence or continuance of the difference is likely to be prejudicial to a supply of munitions. 4 It was under the authority of this section that the government acted when it attempted to apply the arbi- tration provisions of the Munitions Act to the strike of the Welsh coal miners. To say that all differences in regard to wages, hours, etc., of workers employed on munitions work are subject to arbitration is, however, not tantamount to saying that, when such differences arise, they are immediately referred to the Board of Trade to be by them referred to one of the agencies for effecting a settlement. For when a difference arises in a contr611ed establishment or as regards the employment of female workers, the first question to be asked is as to whether any proposed change in wages or hours has been submitted to the Minister of Munitions for his approval. It is only when the Minister has withheld his consent that arbitra- tion of the matter is called for. The Minister may, however, as we have already observed, refer the matter to a special arbitra- tion tribunal for advice before he either gives or withholds his consent. 5 Complaint having arisen that differences under section 1 of the act of 1915 were not always reported promptly to the Board of 1 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 14 (b), (c). Fyfe, op. cit., pp. 76-77. 2 Munitions of War Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 23. 8 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 3 ; Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 9. Fyfe, pp. 61-62. 4 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 3. Fyfe, pp. 61-62. 5 Munitions of War Act, 1915, sec. 4 (2) ; Amendment Act, 1916, sec. 8 (2). Fyfe, pp. 36, 62, 60. 112 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Trade (Minister of Labor), the amending act of 1917 provided that the Minister of Labor might make regulations with respect to the reporting of differences with a view to preventing undue delay in negotiating for the settlement of such differences. 1 The act of 1917 also provides that no workman employed on or in connection with munition work may be discharged on the ground that he has joined or is a member of a trade union or that he has taken part in any trade dispute. 2 1 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sec. 6. British Industrial Experience, vol. 1, p. 262. 2 Munitions of War Act, 1917, sec. 9. Loc. cit., pp. 263-264. CHAPTER VI The Supply and Distribution of Labor The chief purposes of the Munitions Acts were to secure con- tinuity and regularity of effort on the part of employes engaged on munitions work and to stimulate the maximum production of war supplies by both government and private establishments. To accomplish these ends the securing of an adequate labor supply was the most important and most difficult task. SHORTAGE OF LABOR EARLY IN THE WAR The shortage of male labor, which developed in many indus- tries as early as December, 1914, made itself felt especially in the engineering trades, upon which the government was most directly dependent for its supplies of munitions. Recruiting had been allowed to proceed unchecked in these trades, as well as in others, with the result that ere long skilled workers had to be withdrawn from the army to supply the most urgent need created by the shortage of labor in engineering establishments. The rapid change in conditions affecting the labor supply during the first half of 1915 is well reflected in the short reviews of the labor market which are given each month in the Board of Trade Labour Gazette. In January, 1915, says the Gazette, many trades were still depressed. Only those " concerned with the equipment of the Allied forces " were unusually busy and " in some of these trades there was a shortage of skilled labor partly owing to pressure of work and partly to enlistments." * In March " there was a short- age of male labor in many industries, especially in engineering and 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 37. 113 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION shipbuilding, coal mining and agriculture, and of female labor in some branches of the clothing trade." 1 In June " a scarcity of male labor was reported by nearly all trades owing to the previously existing surplus in some having been absorbed by others or drawn off by enlistments. This shortage is now extending to female and boy labor in many occupations." 2 To supply this deficiency of male labor the thoughts of employ- ers and government officials turned first to the possibility of . securing labor, especially skilled labor, from other industries and from other districts. No figures are available which show the full extent of this transference of labor, most of which doubtless took place during the first year of the war on the mere initiative of the workers, who, finding their services in greater demand away from their homes or in other industries than those in which they were customarily employed, migrated thither in search of employment and better wages. TRANSFERS OF LABOR THROUGH THE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES Every effort was made by the government to assist in this movement through the labor exchanges in so far as it related to a transference from other industries to the munitions trades. From the records of the exchanges we can gain some idea as to the extent of the movement from one exchange district to another. There are in the United Kingdom about 400 public labor ex- changes or employment offices in each of which registrations are received and each one of which endeavors to fill vacancies in its own district or immediate locality or, failing in this, in an out- side district by cooperation with the exchange in that district. In 1913, a year of great prosperity, the total number of vacancies filled by all exchanges was 921,853. Of these place- ments 110,992 or 12.4 per cent were in exchange districts outside those in which the applicants were registered. In 1914 the 1 Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 115. 2 Ibid., p. 195. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 115 total number of vacancies filled was 1,116,909 and of this num- ber 177,312 or 15.8 per cent were placements outside the exchange district in which registration took place. Furthermore the state- ment is made that " the increase is mainly accounted for by the transference during the last six months of the year," i.e., during the war period. 1 Only 24,201 of these transferences in 1914 were from one of the eight divisions into which the kingdom is divided to another. In 1915, although there was a decline in the total number of registrations as compared to 1914, amounting to 7.4 per cent, yet the number of vacancies filled amounted to 1,308,137, an increase of 17.1 per cent compared to the preceding year. Although the increases in the registrations and vacancies filled in 1915 were almost entirely among women and girls, yet " the number of per- sons for whom work was found in a labor exchange area other than that in which they were registered was 283,644. (Men 196,057, women 53,096, boys 19,976, girls 14,515.) This means that 21.6 per cent of the placements for the year were outside the districts in which registration took place. The proportion of men transferred was, of course, much larger. Furthermore the aver- age distance traveled was much greater since 67,557 of the trans- fers were from one labor division of the kingdom to another. 2 Not all the transfers were caused by the war, but most of them seem to have been made in response to the demands of the war industries. Thus 89,638 of the men transferred were employed in the building of huts and military camps and in the construc- tion of munitions factories and of public works. Of those trans- ferred, 50,564 of the men, 11,238 of the women, 9,868 of the boys and 443 of the girls were employed directly in the muni- tions trades. 2 GOVERNMENTAL EFFORTS TO PREVENT ENLISTMENTS FROM ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES Governmental efforts to control the supply and distribution of labor were next turned to the problem of preventing or restrict- i Labour Gazette, 1915, pp. 44-45. 2 Ibid., 1916, p. 50. 116 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION ing enlistments from the industries and occupations of primary importance to the conduct of the war. As already mentioned the recruiting campaign had proceeded without reference to the in- dustrial training of the recruits and with but little consideration of the need for skilled workers in those trades upon which the output of war supplies depended. The necessity of maintaining the transportation system in a state of high efficiency was realized at the very beginning and as early as September, 1914, recruiting officers and agencies were instructed by the war office to allow no railway man to enlist " unless he presents a written statement from the railway com- pany who employs him to the effect that he has approached the head of his department and has obtained the necessary permis- sion to enlist." 1 In spite of these restrictions the railways were under steady pressure from the military authorities and from the employes themselves to allow enlistments and they complied with these requests, whenever possible, by employing as substitutes for men of military age men who were ineligible for military service and women. By the middle of October, 1914, 56,000 railway men had joined the colors and this meant nearly ten per cent of the entire railway staff of the country. By June, 1916, the ten larger railway systems had released 94,411 men for military serv- ice and this constituted from 15.1 to 22.2 per cent of their total staffs. By November of that year evidence presented to the man power distribution board showed that nearly 140,000 men, or about 25 per cent of the total staff at the outbreak of the war and over 50 per cent of the men of military age had been released for the army. 2 Among coal miners, enlistments were especially numerous during the early months of the war. A wave of enthusiasm spread throughout the coal mining districts following the invasion of Belgium and this stimulus to recruiting was contributed to by the small industrial demand for coal which was a feature of the early weeks of the war. By February, 1915, it was officially estimated 1 Leland Olds : Railroad Transportation, Part 4 of British Industrial Ex- perience during the War (Senate Document No. 114, 65th Cong., 1st Sess.), vol. 2, p. 1119. z/Wrf., pp. 1120-1123. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 117 that approximately 167,500 miners or 17.2 per cent of the total number had joined the colors. The output of coal had begun to fall off and because of the curtailed production inconvenience was being experienced m some of the manufacturing districts. 1 Among the manufacturing industries the enlistments from the engineering, shipbuilding, chemical and leather trades were espe- cially serious in their effects on output because of the direct dependence of the war upon these industries and the degree of skill required of the operatives. A Board of Trade report made in December, 1914, gives the following estimates as to the number of enlistments from various trades and the percentage which the enlistments made of the total number in the trade according to the census of 1911 : 2 NUMBER EMPLOYED IN EACH TRADE OR INDUSTRY ACCORDING TO INDUSTRIAL POPULATION CENSUS OF 1911, AND PER CENT IN EACH TRADE KNOWN TO HAVE JOINED THE COLORS Approximate Per cent Industrial Known to Have Trade and Industry Population Joined the Census, 1911 Forces Shipbuilding 164,000 13.6 Leather and leather goods 67,000 14.2 Chemicals (including explosives) 122,000 15.4 Engineering 665,000 14.6 Woolen and worsted 129,000 7.2 Boot and shoe 199,000 9.9 Hosiery 18,000 7.5 Iron and steel 311,000 13.9 Food 315,000 13.4 Sawmilling 44,000 14.2 Coal and other mines 1,164,000 13.7 Clothing 235,000 12.5 Paper and printing 240,000 12.5 Linen, jute and hemp 42,000 15.0 Cotton 259,000 9.6 Cycle, motor carriage and wagon building 202,000 14.3 China, pottery and glass 83,000 13.3 Building 1,023,000 12.2 Furniture and upholstery 141,000 13.5 Brick, cement, etc 78,000 13.5 Tin plate 23,000 8.3 1 W. J. Lauck: Coal Mining, Part 5 of British Industrial Experience dur- ing the War, vol. 2, p. 1170. 2 W. J. Lauck : Manufacturing Industries, Part 3 of British Industrial Ex- perience during the War, vol. 2, p. 947. 118 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The fight at Neuve Chapelle aroused Great Britain to a realiza- tion of the fact that the success of the war was as much dependent upon a plentiful supply of munitions as upon a supply of fight- ing men and it then became evident that a mistake had been made in permitting enlistments of skilled workers from certain trades. As already mentioned, this mistake was remedied to a certain extent by the actual withdrawal from the army of skilled workers in the engineering trades. 1 No figures are available which show the extent to which men were withdrawn from the army for work in munitions plants, but such withdrawals were difficult to make, largely because of the opposition of the military authori- ties to the withdrawal of men whose superior abilities had made them especially valuable soldiers. No -proper register of the occupations of men who enlisted had been made at the time of their enlistment. It was therefore necessary to create an elabo- rate system of inspection of regiments both to guard against the fraud of men who wished to escape from military service, by claiming to have the skill needed for munitions work, and to prevent really skilled men from being retained in the army because of the insistence of their commanding officers when such men might be more useful in the manufacture of munitions. After these inspections had been completed, arrangements were made to facilitate the release of skilled workmen for whom appli- cations had been received from the firms which had previously employed them and which were engaged in the manufacture of munitions. These men withdrawn from the colors remained liable to be returned to military service, but while employed in munitions establishments they were subject to the same law as civilian workmen and were subject to military discipline only in regard to such matters as their behavior on streets, etc. They received the same wages as civilian workmen, performing similar duties, but the proviso was made that these wages were to be not less than the rate of army pay they were receiving at the time of their release. 1 British Association for the Advancement of Science, sec. F. Draft Interim Report of the Conference to Investigate into Outlets for Labor after the War, p. 6. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 119 Further efforts were made by the government to prevent the enlistment of skilled workers in November, 1915, when it was announced that an interdepartmental advisory committee was " engaged in preparing lists of reserved occupations, i.e., occupa- tions from which enlistments should be restricted in view of the necessity of maintaining the trade of the country as far as possible," and employers in these trades were invited to make recommendations to the secretary of the committee " with refer- ence to indispensable and irreplaceable classes of labor." x This schedule of indispensable occupations superseded the system of badges to munitions volunteers in May, 1916. OVERTIME WORK AS A CURE FOR LABOR SHORTAGE The way in which many employers sought to solve their labor difficulties during the first year of the war, in particular, was by working their existing forces overtime. There were several cir- cumstances which favored this. The employes filled with the spirit of patriotism and anxious to help the men in the trenches win the war entered little objection during these early months to working long hours. Higher rates of pay for overtime naturally contributed to their willingness to work, and it was not long until the higher earnings secured in this way were actually made necessary by the increased cost of living. Employers, on the other hand, were not reluctant to pay the higher rates for over- time because the terms of their contracts with the government easily made this possible. Furthermore, as far as skilled labor was concerned there was no immediately available supply on which to draw and even the existing supply was being steadily depleted by enlistments. Overtime, therefore, became the rule, at first in those trades working directly on government orders, but later in other trades as well. Under section 150 of the Factories Act of 1901 the Secretary of State is authorized in case of any public emergency to exempt from the act, by order made by him, any factory or workshop in respect to work which is undertaken on behalf of the Crown. i Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 391. 120 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The question now arose as to how much latitude should be given to employers to work the protected classes long hours under the provisions of this exemption. It was generally held that over- time work was necessary, especially in the munitions trades, and those who deplored the necessity comforted themselves with the thought that the war would be a short one. During the year 1915 the authority to suspend the Factories Act was extended by clause 6A of the Defense of the Realm Regulations to "any factory or workshop in which the Secretary of State is satisfied that by reason of the loss of men through enlistment or trans- ference in government service, or of other circumstances arising out of the present war, exemption is necessary to secure the carry- ing on of work required in the national interests." ' Applications to work overtime began to pour in on the Facto- ries Department from all over the kingdom as soon as government orders began to be placed and such applications have continued to be made throughout the war, although, perhaps, lately with less frequency. The earliest trades to be affected were those directly concerned with the manufacture of munitions. Next came the demand from the woolen trades, from hosiery factories and from the clothing trades, especially those engaged in the manufacture of army clothing and of boots and shoes. Other applications were received from those trades manufacturing surgical dress- ings, metal accessories, such as buckles, spurs, bits and horse- shoes, and from a large number of miscellaneous trades. The department's method of handling the problem was to make temporary orders permitting overtime, not to exceed two hours a day, on not more than five days a week. Additional hours were permitted in the munitions trades. In these trades the hours of labor oftentimes extended to fourteen or fifteen per day and Sunday labor and night work were usual. Between August 4, 1914, and February 19, 1915, not less than 3,141 orders were granted permitting overtime work for women and young per- sons to whom alone the Factories Act applies. Of this number 748 were in the woolen manufacture, 231 in the hosiery manufac- ture, 514 in the manufacture of uniforms, 245 in the manufacture 1 Annual Report of Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1915, p. 5. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 121 of boots and shoes, 151 in the manufacture of munitions of war and 137 in the manufacture of canvas equipment. Not all manufacturers awaited the pleasure of the factory in- spectors in the matter of working overtime. Although the inspectors endeavored to make it clear to all that permission to work overtime was for only a limited number of hours, the impression prevailed in many quarters that the government had suspended the Factories Acts for the period of the war. There were, accordingly, many cases where long hours were worked without legal permission having been given. For men workers the Factories Acts of course do not apply and therefore no permission was necessary to employ male adults beyond the usual number of hours. During the first year of the war it seems to have been the aim of most manufacturers to work as much overtime as the workers themselves were willing to allow. At the time the Health of Munitions Workers Committee con- ducted its investigation on the subject of " Hours of Work," in 1915, it found that men were being worked sometimes as many as 108 hours a week. Boys under 18 frequently worked as many as 90 or 100 hours, and some women and girls were regu- larly employed for 77 hours a week. Requests for permission to work overtime continued unabated throughout 1915, but the Chief Inspector of Factories notes the fact that there was " a marked reduction in the amount of lati- tude sought and allowed; for instance, fresh demands for per- mission to work on Sundays are now rarely received and are confined to cases where sudden and unexpected emergencies arise or the processes are continuous. Requests for Saturday afternoon work have also become less common and there seems to be a more general recognition of the advantages of a week-end rest." l The Factories Department also became more strict in its allow- ances of overtime. The Chief Inspector reported that there was no set scheme throughout the kingdom for the general arrange- 1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1915, p. 5. 122 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION merit of hours when overtime was worked. Different systems were adopted in different localities and employers seem to have been governed chiefly by the custom of the district. In some instances there was overtime on each day of the week, while in other places overtime was worked on only two or three days. The desire of the workers not to work late in the evening had led in some instances to a long spell of work in the afternoon without any interval for the evening meal, but experience seemed to indi- cate that long spells of work without interruption did not lead to high output. Accordingly, the department established the rule that for the protected classes of labor not more than five contin- uous hours should be worked in textile factories, nor more than five and one-half hours in nontextile works, and that even these hours might not be worked unless tea or other hot refreshments were available in the rooms for the workers during the spell. A break of a quarter of an hour in the afternoon, instead of a half hour, was permitted provided (a) that the working spell did not exceed six hours; (b) that a whole hour was allowed for dinner; and (c) that the inspectors were satisfied that adequate arrange- ments had been made for serving tea to workers as soon as they stopped work. 1 In munitions establishments the demand for overtime work was more urgent than elsewhere and permission to work over- time was granted with less reluctance. We have already noted the wider latitude given employers in these trades. After six months' experience with such work the department issued a gen- eral order applicable only to munitions establishments and which provided for overtime work in accordance with any one of three schemes. 1. Overtime with a limit of five hours per week for women, boys between 14 and 16 and girls between 16 and 18 years of age, and of 7% hours for boys over 16 years and also (in a few cases of special urgency) for women. 2. Day and night shifts for women and boys over 16 years, and in certain cases for boys 14 years of age. 3. Eight hour shifts for women, girls over 16 and boys over 14 years of age. 1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1915, p. 8. THE SUPPLY .AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 123 For the large munitions establishments it was found necessary in some cases to issue special orders which permitted overtime somewhat in advance of that covered by the general order. Even as early as 1915, however, it had been noted that there was a distinct tendency towards a reduction of hours in munitions plants as well as elsewhere. Sunday labor had been found to be especially objectionable. Not only had the Health of Munitions Workers Committee recommended the abandonment of Sunday work but the Ministry of Munitions had also recommended to employers that they abstain wherever possible from Sunday work, especially where overtime was worked during the week. 1 During the year 1916 the Chief Inspector reported that " there has been a notable decrease in the requests for the long hours that were common in the early months of the war. The general tendency has been to restrict the weekly hours of work to an amount very little, if at all, in excess of those allowed under the Factories Act, and to arrange for more elasticity in the daily limits. While in many of the munitions factories and in the machine tool and similar works full use had been made of the overtime allowed, in other cases overtime work was intermittent. It was noted that in those cases where special orders had been granted to meet sudden emergencies, advantage had not been taken of the permission granted in every case. One employer expressed what seemed to be a general opinion when he said that the special orders were " like a drop of brandy, a useful thing to keep in the house, but you don't want to be always taking it." 2 Even in the case of adult male labor it began to be realized that excessive hours of labor and Sunday labor were inadvisable. Although the Minister of Munitions had no statutory power to restrict the hours for men workers, recommendations were made by him that moderation be shown in the matter of overtime and by the end of the second year of the war Sunday labor had been generally discontinued in controlled establishments and the Min- 1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1915, p. 6. 2 Ibid.. 1916, p. 3. 124 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION istry was endeavoring to get it discontinued throughout the country on the ground that it hindered, rather than facilitated, maximum production. APPEALS FOR VOLUNTARY REGISTRANTS FOR MUNITIONS WORK Reluctance to use the compulsory powers ofc the government to mobilize the industrial forces of the nation even in war times is a characteristic of Anglo-Saxon countries, and English experi- ence in this matter is in sharp contrast with that of the conti- nental countries, in which compulsion for civilian as well as mili- tary purposes was adopted with little hesitation in the early months of the war. Although there was during the early months of the year 1915 much talk in England of "conscription of labor," apparently intended to serve as a parallel to, and an excuse for, conscription for military purposes, there was so much objection to the plan among the working classes that the government found it desirable to disavow any such intention 1 in making its appeal for the passage of the Munitions of War Act, 1915. Instead of conscripting men and women for industrial pur- poses, the government has sought by every means possible to discover the extent and character of the labor supply of the United Kingdom, and by a policy of classifying the trades and restricting the entrance of labor into the non-essential ones has left it little alternative but to enter those trades and industries which have been deemed essential for the successful prosecution of the war. The first step in this direction was taken in March, 1915, when the President of the Board of Trade issued an appeal to the women "who are prepared, if needed to take paid employment of any kind industrial, agricultural, clerical, etc. to enter themselves upon the register of women for war service which is being prepared by the Board of Trade labor exchanges." The object of registration it was said "is to find out what reserve force of women's labor, trained or untrained, can be made avail- 1 See ante, p. 94. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 125 able, if required." Women were urged to register by this appeal to their patriotism : " any woman who by working helps to release a man or to equip a man for fighting does national war service." * Measured solely by the number who availed themselves of this opportunity to register for war service, this appeal to the patriot- ism of the women was fairly productive; 110,700 women were said to have enrolled by the middle of September. Judged by the immediate availability of this potential supply of labor, how- ever, but little was accomplished by the registration, for an examination of the returns showed that only 5,500 women were able to undertake the skilled jobs open to them. 2 Not discouraged with the results attained by this registration the government next proceeded to invite registration of men from those trades whose relation to the conduct of the war was most intimate. In June, 1915, the Ministry of Munitions acting in cooperation with the National Advisory Committee of the Trade Unions invited "all skilled workers in the engineering, ship- building and allied trades, not already engaged on war contracts," to register themselves at munitions work bureaus open for this purpose at some 400 places throughout the United Kingdom. Registration rendered a man liable to transfer to government work in any part of the country on the following conditions: 1. The rate of* wages paid will be the rate of the district to which he is transferred unless the rate of the district which he leaves is higher, in which case he will be paid at the higher rate. 2. Certain traveling and subsistence allowances will be paid in reasonable cases. 3. The first period of enrolment to be for six months, but workmen may volunteer for a further period when this has expired. 4. Any workman transferred from employment shall, if found suitable, be guaranteed employment during the war for a period not exceeding six months. 5. The workman agrees that any breach of his undertaking shall be dealt with by a Munitions Court, consisting of a chairman appointed by the Min- ister of Munitions, with assessors, equally representing employers and work- men, which may, if it thinks fit, impose a fine not exceeding 3. 3 1 British Industrial Experience during the War, vol. 3, p. 709. 2 British Association, Credit, Industry and the War, p. 72. 3 Labour Gazette, July, 1915. 126 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION This plan of voluntary registration had been adopted by the government at the urgent request of the trade unions in the engineering and shipbuilding trades while the Munitions Bill was under consideration in the House of Commons. They hoped to show that voluntary enlistment was sufficient without any degree of compulsion, and hoped that the success of the scheme would be such that the government would abandon, or at least materially modify, the Munitions Bill. 1 At first the plan seemed likely to succeed. Registration began on the evening of June 24 and 46,000 men enrolled the first week. By July 10 about 90,000 volunteers were registered. When the lists were carefully inspected, however, it was seen that four-fifths of the volunteers were already engaged on government work and that dilution of labor must be resorted to. The government found the plan sufficiently useful, however, to continue it and made a place for it in the Munitions of War Act, 1915. 2 Those who register under this plan are technically known as " war munitions volunteers," to distinguish them from the army reserve munitions workers who are released from military service to work in munitions plants. In order to protect these volunteers from insistent appeals from recruiting officers, the act provided a scheme of war service badges to be worn by such workers and rules were drawn up by the Ministry of Munitions to govern the use of these badges and to prevent their fraudu- lent transfer to other workers. 3 There was no guarantee that wearers of these badges would be exempt from military service and in May, 1917, it became necessary to withdraw the privileges conferred by these badges and to make their wearers subject to the military service acts. COMPULSORY REGISTRATION FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES The government next undertook to secure registration on a much larger scale. On July 15, 1915, the National Registration 1 H. L. Gray : War Time Control of Industry, p. 32. 2 Sec. 8. Fyfe : Employers and Workmen under the Munitions of War Acts, p. 72. 3 Fyfe, pp. 171, 174. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 127 Act was passed, which provided for the registration " of all per- sons, male and female, between the ages of 15 and 65 " who were not in the naval or military service, together with a record of their ages, nationalities, marital conditions, number of depend- ents, professions or occupations. The record was also to indicate : (1) Whether the work on which he (the registrant) is employed is work for or under any government department. (2) Whether he is skilled in and able to perform any work other than the work (if any) at which he is at the time employed, and, if so, the nature thereof. The Registrar General, acting under the directions of the Local Government Board, was made the central registration authority and the common councils of the various metropolitan and munici- pal boroughs and of urban and rural districts were made respon- sible for the registration in their respective areas. The instructions issued by the Local Government Board to the local authorities in charge of this registration emphasized the importance of stating occupations with the utmost care, " espe- cially by persons having technical knowledge or skill, such as workers in engineering, shipbuilding and other metal trades, and by persons engaged in agriculture." The nation seems to have entered upon this registration with much enthusiasm and the press declared that it " marked the decision of the people that the whole man and woman power of the kingdom should be applied to the task of beating Germany," 1 but although penalties were provided for persons refusing or neglecting to register and to furnish the information required by the act, it does not appear that the registration was at all com- plete or that the information secured was of much value to the government in its efforts to mobilize the industrial forces of the nation, although it was made much use of by recruiting officers. INDUSTRIAL EXEMPTIONS UNDER THE MILITARY SERVICE ACTS The Military Service Act of January 27, 1916, called into the military service " with the colors or in the reserve for the period 1 British Industrial Experience during the War, vol. 1, p. 42. 128 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION of the war " every unmarried man between the ages of 18 and 40, inclusive, and the Amendment Act of May 25, 1916, made con- scription applicable to " every male British subject " within the ages mentioned. Both acts, however, provided that exemptions might be granted to any man on grounds of ill health, infirmity, conscientious objection to military service, exceptional financial or business obligations or domestic position, or " on the ground that it is expedient in the national interests that he should, instead of being employed in military service, be engaged in other work in which he is habitually engaged or, if he is being educated or trained for any work, that he should continue to be so educated or trained." Exemptions might also be granted by any govern- ment department, after consultation with the army council, to " men who are employed or engaged or qualified for employ- ment or engagement in any work which is certified by the depart- ment to be work of national importance and whose exemption comes within the sphere of the department." Provision was made for the representation of labor, whether organized or unorganized, on the military service tribunals which were created to pass on the question of exemptions. The circular of instructions issued by the Local Government Board to local bodies charged with the selection of the military service tribunals urged these tribunals to " be most careful to avoid the slightest tendency to what might appear to be industrial com- pulsion." * Armed with the powers of military conscription, the govern- ment has been in a measure free to dispose of the services of its male population of military age in whatever way it has seen fit, whether in the army, the navy or in industry. During the year 1916, the need of men for the war industries appears to have been felt fully as keenly as the need for fighting men and a liberal policy of exemptions was followed. Taking advantage of that provision of the Military Service Act which allowed a govern- ment department to grant exemption, after consultation with the Army Council, to men engaged in work of national importance 1 British Industrial Experience during the War, vol. 1, p. 719. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 129 and whose exemption comes within the sphere of the department, the Board of Trade on June 9, 1916, granted exemption from military service to dock and wharf laborers and other persons, " excluding clerks," employed on the maintenance of ports, docks, wharves and waterways." ' In November, 1916, the government entered into arrangements with certain unions, notably the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, whereby no recruiting officer could call up for service with the colors any workman who held a " trade card " evidencing his membership in any one of certain specified trade unions of skilled craftsmen. In May, 1917, this arrangement had to be withdrawn owing to the growing need of men for military service. Both the limited character of the agreement and its withdrawal caused great irritation throughout the working districts and led to a strike of large proportions in the engineering trades in the spring of 1917. Although the government may fairly be charged with lack of consistency in its policy of exempting workers for industrial reasons, it may be said that the military situation was such that the pursuit of any consistent policy was well nigh impossible. By the beginning of the last quarter of 1916, the need of men for military service had become so urgent that it was deemed neces- sary to release for military service certain men who had pre- viously been granted exemption badges on the ground that the work on which they had been engaged was of national impor- tance. In October and December of that year unskilled and semi- skilled men of military age who were engaged on munition work and for whom substitutes could be found were to be released for military service, if found medically fit. Their substitutes were to come mainly from the following sources : (a) Men in the army unfit for general service and surplus to military requirements ; (b) Men granted exemption by tribunals on condition of taking up work of national importance; (c) Men called up by recruiting officers and not required for the army because of their medical category. 2 1 British Industrial Experience during the War, vol. 1, p. 720. 2 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 56. 130 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Employers in the munitions trades were to furnish to the Min- istry of Munitions lists of men to whom badges had been issued and such men after a medical examination had disclosed their fitness for military service were to be released for such service as soon as the employment (labor) exchanges in collaboration with other government departments and the Army Council had ar- ranged for their substitutes, as above mentioned. These substitutes who were suitable for munitions work and who were willing to undertake it were enrolled by the officials of the employment exchanges at first as army reserve munitions workers. Men who were not found suitable for munitions work were nevertheless registered (though not as army reserve work- ers) as possible substitutes in other industries. 1 By the first of December, 1916, the need of men in the army had become so urgent that the government had to announce that tribunals could no longer grant exemption " on grounds of busi- ness or employment," except for highly exceptional reasons, to any man under 26 years of age, since any such man " who is fit for general service is of more value to the country with the forces than he would be in civil employment," 2 and by January 20, 1917, the same rule was laid down for men under 31 years of age. 3 NATIONAL SERVICE SCHEME In December, 1916, Lloyd George announced that the uni- versal national service policy which had been determined upon by the late government would be put into effect with Neville Cham- berlin, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, as director. In accordance with this plan, industries and occupations would be scheduled according to their essential utility in war time and laborers would be invited to enroll for war work. If they did not respond in sufficient numbers the government would use its powers to direct them where they were most needed. 4 1 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 56. 2 British Industrial Experience, etc., vol. 1, pp. 723-724. 3 Ibid., pp. 724-725. 4 Gray, op. cit., pp. 45-46. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 131 It was in accordance with this plan that the Minister of Muni- tions found it necessary to issue an order under the authority of the Defense of the Realm Regulation 8 A, whereby men of military age (18 to 60 inclusive) were not allowed to enter any one of a long list of occupations contained in a schedule accom- panying the order, except " with the consent of the Director General of National Service, given on the ground that the employment is expedient for the purpose of executing a govern- ment contract, or on the ground that the work on which the men are to be employed is of national importance." These occupa- tions included the manufacture of a large number of commodities, either luxuries or generally believed to be not essential in war times, and also included the distribution and sale of such com- modities. The effect of this order was not to cause an immediate cessation of these industries, but to prevent their expansion un- less such expansion could be secured by the employment of women, boys or old men. The Director General of National Service issued at about the same time as the issuance of the order of the Ministry of Muni- tions containing the list of restricted occupations, a list of " trades and occupations of primary importance " 1 into which new labor was urged to go in the. national interest. This list included not only the munition trades but many other industries deemed essen- tial for the health and efficiency of the people and for the success- ful conduct of the war. The Ministry of National Service was created by act of Parlia- ment, March 28, 1917, " for the purpose of making the best use of all persons, whether men or women, able to work in any indus- try, occupation or service." The Minister was given the title of Director General of National Service. By him an appeal was made for volunteers to be known as national service volunteers who were to go into any work to which they might be sent. It was for the purpose of guiding the employment exchanges in allocating these volunteers to their work that the Director Gen- 1 British Industrial Experience, etc., vol. 1, pp. 725-729. *Ibid., pp. 733-734. 132 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION eral of National Service issued this list of " trades and occupa- tions of primary importance " just referred to. The Ministry of National Service was organized on a large scale. Much labor and money was spent on organization and advertising and several hundred thousand men were enrolled within a few weeks as national service volunteers. The plan at first seemed to be a failure. Three months after it had begun it was said that the number of men shifted from one occupation to another deemed to be more essential " was actually smaller than that of the staff employed at St. Ermin's Hotel in shifting them." Several reasons are given for the failure of the plan as origi- nally constituted : 1. The plan duplicated in large measure the work of the employment ex- changes instead of supplementing it. 2. Men were enrolled for service without any attempt having been made to ascertain where there was any demand for their services. " Seven-eighths of the volunteers are men who can not possibly be spared from their present posts, and no one knows how to extract the other eighth or what to do with it when it is extracted." 1 According to the original plan the enrolment of volunteers was done by the national service department and the men were to be placed by the em- ployment exchanges. 3. Organized labor seems to have regarded the scheme as a thinly veiled substitute for industrial conscription which was unpopular with the trade unions and with laborers generally. Men who were willing enough to be drawn into the service of the state at an arbitrary wage and for dangerous duties were not willing to have even a mild form of compulsion applied to service for a capitalist employer working for profit. An effort was made to amend the scheme during the spring of 1917, by placing the responsibility for selecting the persons to be shifted from the less essential to the more essential industries upon joint committees of employers and workers in each organ- ized trade and upon local national service committees selected to deal with the unorganized trades in every urban area. Those who volunteered under this scheme were to be called " substitu- tion " volunteers. They were to be allocated to their work by the 1 The New Statesman, April 7, 1917, p. 5. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 133 substitution officers of the national service department and not through the employment exchanges. The terms of their transfer were made more attractive than they had previously been, as will be seen from the following statement : A " substitution " volunteer will not be asked to leave his employment except to take up a definite job on work of national importance on terms which will be clearly notified to him. I,f the terms are clearly acceptable to him, he will be free to refuse the offer without going before any appeal court. He will either take the place of a man of military age and fitness who has been called up to join the colors or he will reinforce the labor supply in industries of special national importance for war purposes. In either case he will have the satisfaction of feeling that he is engaged in direct war work as truly as the men who are actually with the colors. The terms of employment as regards wages are such that the volunteer is not now asked to make any pecuniary sacrifice by transferring his services from private to national work. 1 In spite of these modifications in the national service scheme it does not appear to have been immediately practicable. The select committee on national expenditure appointed by order of the House of Commons to examine into current expendi- tures and see what if any economies might be effected, through a subcommittee reported on the work and expenditures of the Ministry of National Service from its beginning (end of Decem- ber, 1916, to August 8, 1917). The expenditures up to that time had been 223,720; the total staff was 762 on March 31 and 491 on August 9. The result of this expenditure had been that 351,383 men and 41,984 women were enrolled. Employment for 19,951 men had been found as national service volunteers. Of these 8,747 were placed by employment exchanges; 9,187 part time workers (men) had also been found work, or a total of 29,768. In the Women's Section, 14,256 had been found employment, or a total of 44,024 men and women. The committee concludes its report on this subject with this statement : We are of opinion that the results obtained were not commensurate with the preparations made and the heavy preliminary outlay of money. 2 1 Labour Gasette, 1917, p. 161. 2 Special Report and Reports from the Select Committee on National Expenditure together with the Proceedings of the Committee, April 12. 134: BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The New Statesman in July declared that national service was dead, although the government kept up the pretense that it was alive. This was, to say the least, an exaggeration. The plan had up to that time proved ineffective, but it was not dead and later in the year was enlarged and wide powers given to its director. In the meantime the way for a more successful distribution of the man power of the country had been paved by the decision of the war cabinet to call into military or naval service men who had been employed on munitions work and who had been protected from calls for enlistment by their trade cards or war service badges. THE PROTECTED OCCUPATIONS LIST A list of protected occupations was issued by the Ministry of Munitions which went into effect May 1, 1917. Employers were required to send a list of all their male employes who were over the age of 16, together with the total of women and boys employed, to the munitions area dilution officer of the area in which the establishment was situated. They were to mark the names of these men for whom they claimed protection under the schedule. The actual selection of the men who were to be released was made by the district representatives of the Admir- alty or director of army contracts. Only men who were found " indispensable for the fulfilment of the varying programs of ship construction, munitions and other essential government work were protected from recruiting " and even these men were protected only provisionally. The army's need might again be urgent or experience might show that operations performed by the protected men could be undertaken by men released from the army or by women. All exemptions previously granted by trade cards or war serv- ice badges or certificates were canceled and those workmen who were protected (temporarily) from recruiting were given red cards (army form W. 3476A), while those who were engaged on Admiralty, War Office or munitions work but were not protected by the schedule were given cards printed in black (army form W. 3476B). THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 135 Men who were employed on Admiralty, War Office or muni- tions work and who did not hold red or black cards, but claimed exemption, might present their claims to an enlistment claims committee set up in every munitions area recruiting office and which consisted of one labor representative and one government representative. A central committee for each of the eight divisional areas passed upon claims on which the local commit- tees were unable to agree. Where men were called up and their employer considered that substitutes were needed, the government promised that efforts would be made to supply them. Employers were warned, how- ever, that " the need of the army for men is too urgent to admit of the release of men being delayed in every case until substitutes have been provided and that the supply of male substitutes is likely to prove unequal to the demand." a Employers were urged to employ women wherever possible, even if they had to be trained for the work, and to effect a transfer or rearrangement of labor within their works. NATIONAL SERVICE AND THE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES It was in connection with the work of providing substitutes that the National Service Department was connected up with this scheme, and by means of which it apparently gained a new lease of life. In every munitions area recruiting office an area employ- ment officer representing the Ministry of Labor and an area substitution officer representing the National Service Department were located, and on them fell the responsibility of providing substitutes where required. The first 33 per cent of the total quota of men from each district required for military service were to be furnished without reference to the provision of sub- stitutes. Thereafter the release of men was made dependent upon the finding of substitutes and the munitions area dilution officer was to notify the munitions area recruiting office of the men made available for military service by the provision of substitutes. 1 Letters issued by Ministry of Munitions (April 21, 1917), British Indus- trial Experience, vol. 1, p. 736. 136 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The line of division of work and authority between the employment exchanges and the National Service Department in the efforts to supply substitutes, was at first not clearly defined. Circular R133 issued June 8, 1917, attempted a division along the following lines : (a) The employment exchanges were to deal with war munition volunteers and with army reserve munition workers in addition to their ordinary work of placing men in employment. They were also to deal with persons of the professional or business classes, whether enrolled as national service volun- teers or not. (b) The national service department was to place the national service volunteers and the substitution volunteers. The National Service Department drew up a list of certified occupations, which was issued as Circular R136 on June 23, 1917, and which took the place of previous lists of protected occupa- tions. Inclusion of an occupation within this list was evidence that the government departments and the Army Council had agreed that the work was of national importance, and that men employed or engaged in these occupations were entitled to exemption from the military service acts when individual certificates of exemption had been issued to them by the appropriate tribunal. Mere employment at an occupation included in this list did not auto- matically exempt the individual workman. It was distinctly stated that " men who have a bad record for absenting themselves from work " should not be granted exemption and exemption having been granted should not continue in such cases. NEW NATIONAL SERVICE PLAN The division and distribution of powers among the several authorities concerned with recruiting and the provision of sub- stitutes for men called up apparently did not work smoothly for in October, 1917, it was decided to transfer to the Director Gen- eral of National Service " the powers and duties of the Army Council . . . which relate to recruiting, the calling up of the THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 137 reserve forces, exempting from service or otherwise to the pro- vision of men to the army." 1 Under a new director (Sir Austin Geddes) the National Serv- ice Department issued an outline of a new scheme for enrolling volunteers for work of national importance. Some of the defects made evident by the early experience of the department were remedied. (1) Arrangements were made to determine the demand for labor in undertakings of national importance accurately and regularly. The lists of all vacancies to be filled were to be compiled and published from day to day in each locality. (2) Men required to fill these places were to be secured from less essential industries. Men of the type required and of the number actually wanted were to be invited to enroll as war work volunteers. War work volunteers were asked to sign an enrolment form on which they agreed to undertake work of national importance either for the dura- tion of a particular job or for a year. The enrolment of national service volunteers ceased and those already enrolled who had not been transferred to work of national importance were released from their obligations, but the hope was expressed that when definite vacancies occurred for which they possessed the necessary qualifications, they would then enroll as war worker volunteers. Those national service volunteers who had been transferred to work of national importance were classed and described as war worker volunteers (special), but were to continue under the terms and conditions under which they were transferred until the expiration of their jobs, when they were invited to enroll under the new terms when vacancies occurred for which they possessed the necessary qualifications. (3) The war worker volunteers were to be divided into three categories : a. War worker volunteers (trade) : This class of workers was to be obtained by trade committees of employers and workers and were to be placed by the committees in vacancies selected by them from lists supplied to them. The committees were to utilize the employ- ment exchanges for transferring the men, as for example in secur- ing railway transportation. b. War worker volunteers (general) : Those who volunteer for a year. c. War worker volunteers (special) : Those who volunteer for a specific job. Classes (b) and (c) were to be obtained and dealt with by the employment exchanges. All war work volunteers were to receive 1 Ministry of National Service Orders, October 23 and 30. British Indus- trial Experience, vol. 1, p. 815. 138 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION on transfer the rate of wages they were receiving before they were transferred or the time rate of the district to which they were transferred, whichever was the higher. If sent away from their homes, they were to receive railway fares and, under certain conditions, the usual subsistence allowances, and those enrolling for a year's service might receive out of work pay or a guaranty of employment for six months. 1 In the fact that volunteers are enrolled only after a demand for their services has been demonstrated and in the closer coopera- tion with the employment exchanges, the new scheme for national service is undoubtedly vastly superior to the old one of register- ing a miscellaneous lot of volunteers whose qualifications are not easily ascertainable and for whom there may be no demand. The scheme has also profited by the larger authority given to the director in the control of recruiting. INDUSTRIAL CONSCRIPTION A REALITY A conclusion to which one arrives from a study of the develop- ment of the government's policy of exercising control over the supply and distribution of labor during the war is that, despite the objection raised to conscription of labor and despite the caution imposed upon the local administrators to avoid anything in the nature of compulsion in their dealings with labor, the policy which has been evolved is little short of compulsion for men of military age. It is true that men are not called up and arbitrarily assigned to a given task as they are under the military service acts, but the fact that men of military age are not allowed to enter many oc- cupations except with the consent of the National Service Direc- tor means "that they are limited for new employment to the war industries or to those of national importance. Having entered such occupations nominally as volunteers they are subject to the terms of their contract with the government for the period stipu- lated. If they do not fulfil their contract or if they are charge- able with bad time keeping they are liable to be withdrawn from 1 British Industrial Experience, etc., vol. 1, p. 817. THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR 139 industry for the army, at any time. As long as they are engaged in one of the certified occupations they are in a measure protected from the recruiting officer, but even this protection does not avail when the need of men for military service grows urgent or the dilution officer finds satisfactory substitutes from the lists of those not available for military service. The demand for more men in the army has become more urgent with every passing month and the industries of the country have been " combed " time and again. The success of the policy of withdrawals has been dependent upon the success of the dilution policy to be described in the following chapter. Doubtless such control of labor as is being exercised under the national service scheme is necessary as a complement to the mili- tary service acts and because of the imperative need of men by the war industries, but when one considers the length to which the government has gone in its restrictions on the employment and movement of labor, he is led to wonder whether organized labor has in reality accomplished much by its apparently success- ful resistance to the industrial conscription of labor. CHAPTER VII The Dilution of Labor By the middle of the year 1915 it had been generally recognized that neither the transference of workers nor overtime work would be sufficient to secure the increased production required by war needs. Employers as well as the government recognized that some reorganization of industries must be effected which would permit the employment of a larger proportion of unskilled work- ers. This policy of introducing a larger proportion of semi- skilled and unskilled workers into trades which had hitherto been regarded as suitable only for highly skilled workers, is aptly ex- pressed by the phrase " dilution of labor." As early as March, 1915, the government had taken steps in the direction of diluting labor. The Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, Mr. Lloyd George, in opening the conference of gov- ernment officials and trade union representatives which led to the Treasury agreement, called attention to the great need of an increased supply of munitions and the difficulty of bringing it about owing to the scarcity of skilled labor. In asking the trade unionists to suspend their rules restricting output for the period of the war, he said that there is the question " of the number of machines which one man is permitted to attend to; there is the question of the employment of semi-skilled labor, where under normal conditions you could not assent to it; and there is the question of the employment of female labor. In France there is a vast amount of work being done by women and by girls in the ammunitions factories. In that country they have suspended all these rules and regulations for the time being, because they realize that the security of their country depends upon it." 1 1 Forty-seventh Annual Report of the Trade Unions Congress, 1915, p. 220 ff. 140 THE DILUTION OF LABOR 141 TRADE UNION OPPOSITION TO DILUTION Although the Treasury agreement provided for dilution of labor, in accordance with the proposals of the Chancellor, and although the Munitions of War Act, 1915, was intended to make possible the adoption of this policy, little progress in the way of such dilution had apparently been made during the year 1915. In spite of the fact that their leaders had signed the agreement to permit the substitution of unskilled male labor and female labor for skilled workers in munitions plants, the rank and file of trade unionists were greatly dissatisfied with the policy, the reasons for and the necessity of which they did not fully understand. In order to make clear this necessity, Mr. Lloyd George, then Minister of Munitions, attended the Trade Unions Congress at Bristol, in September, 1915, and in an address to the congress set forth the reasons which had led to the adoption of the policy and explained more fully the methods by which this dilution was to be brought about. " The war," he said, " has resolved itself into a conflict between the mechanics of Germany and Austria on the one hand, and the mechanics of Great Britain and France on the other. . . . This is a war of material. Inadequate material means defeat, sufficient material means victory." Having called attention to the increased number of casualties which occurred as a result of the shortage of munitions and hav- ing emphasized the necessity of having the factories manu- facturing munitions operating continuously, by night as well as by day, Mr. Lloyd George went on to say : The first fact I want to get into the minds of trade unionists is this that if you employ every skilled workman in the kingdom you would [sic] not have enough labor for the task we have on hand. Therefore, when it is a question of our diluting skilled labor with unskilled, it is not a question of turning out the skilled workman in order to put a cheaper workman in his place. We have plenty of work for the skilled workman, we have not enough skilled workmen to go around. The second point I want to put is this there is a good deal of the work which is being done by skilled workmen now, highly skilled workmen who 1 Report of Trade Unions Congress, 1915, p. 353. 142 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION have years of training, which can just as easily be done by those who have only had a few weeks' or a few days' training. We want to turn the un- skilled on to work which unskilled men and women can do just as well as the highly skilled so as to reserve the highly skilled for work that nobody can do except those that have great experience, training and skill. Another thing we want to do is this you can not leave the unskilled to do the work alone without having a skilled person to look after them. For instance, take shell making, instead of putting skilled people to do that work, what we should like to do would be to put on, say ten or eleven, unskilled men or women to one skilled man to look after them. . . This is work which is done in France and Germany by women. It is done in parts of this country by women also. It does not require very long training. A few weeks and they are trained. In a few days intelligent men and women are able to do it. It is a waste of material, of which we have got far too little, to turn highly skilled men on to do work of this kind and, therefore, we have got to make arrangements with the trade unionists by which they permit us to mix the skilled and the unskilled so as to let the skilled go as far as it possibly will, and unless that is done we have not got enough labor to go around. Speaking of the results of the Treasury agreement, Mr. Lloyd George said that although the state had kept its part of the bar- gain by the passage of the Munitions Acts, which provided for a restoration of prewar conditions and for limitation of profits, the unionists in many cases were not keeping their part of the contract. The parliamentary committee decided to investigate these charges. GOVERNMENT ASSISTS IN DILUTION During September, 1915, the Central Munitions Labor Supply Committee, upon which the trade unions were represented, was appointed to advise and assist the Minister of Munitions in carry- ing out its dilution policy. A circular (No. 129) was dispatched to owners of controlled establishments explaining what was meant by dilution of labor and instructing them to introduce it as extensively as possible and without delay. Dilution of labor, as explained in this circular, implies that : (1) The employment of skilled men should be confined to work which could not be efficiently performed by less skilled labor or by women. (2) Women should be employed as far as practicable on all classes of work for which they are suitable. (3) Semi-skilled and unskilled men should be employed on any work THE DILUTION OF LABOR 143 which does not necessitate the employment of skilled men and for which women are unsuitable. In order to assist employers in carrying out the policy of dilu- tion the government sent special representatives, among others the factory inspectors, to the most important districts in which munitions plants were located, to explain the methods by which dilution could be brought about. As the result of conferences with employers, substitution for skilled workers proceeded rapidly throughout the year 1916. Agreements were entered into by employers and employes not only in the munitions industries but in cotton, hosiery, woolen and worsted, silk, felt hat, printing, bleaching and dyeing, woodworking and furniture, boot, whole- sale clothing, earthenware and china manufactures, which pro- vided for the substitution of men not available for military service and women for men of military age, together with the agreement that at the close of the war, the workers dismissed for military service were to be reinstated under conditions which prevailed in the prewar period. SCARCITY OF MALE SUBSTITUTES The number of men available for substitution was not large. The unskilled male labor which might have been substituted for skilled labor was as much in demand for military purposes as were the skilled laborers. Something was done in the way of substitution by the introduction of men over military age and by the earlier promotion of boys serving their apprenticeship to undertake men's work the place of these boys being taken in many instances by women or girls. However, the result in most instances where an attempt was made to make substitutions was that the employers had to fall back upon female labor for their supply of substitutes. There are no figures which show the total numbers of skilled and of unskilled men in all industries in the United Kingdom. Indeed such figures would be hard to collect since the line of demarcation between skilled and unskilled, in most trades, is very uncertain. Some indication of the extent of this mode of sub- 144 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION stitution is afforded by the figures furnished by the labor ex- changes for the insured trades which include, it will be remembered, among others engineering, shipbuilding and works of construction. In 1914 the number of " skilled vacancies " filled by men in the insured trades registered in the labor exchanges was 228,800. In 1915 it had fallen to 223,800, in spite of the war demands, and in 1916 there was a further decline to 194,237. The number of " unskilled vacancies " in these trades filled by men registered in the labor exchanges was, in 1914, 182,824. By 1915, this number had risen to 209,057 and by 1916 to 210,680. 1 A slightly better showing is made if the engineering trades alone are considered, but it is at once obvious that the enormous war demand for labor in these industries was to be met in or.ly a very small degree by the use of unskilled male labor to take the place of skilled workers. FEMALE LABOR AVAILABLE EARLY IN THE WAR Owing to the scarcity of male labor of all sorts, in the efforts to find substitutes for skilled labor, emphasis was of necessity placed upon the utilization of women and girls. The extent of the changes which took place during the first year of the war in the way of substituting female labor for male labor is not easy to trace, on account of the absence of official statistics and the lack of government participation in the movement to effect this substitution. While the great majority of these women laborers were hired by private employers, independent of efforts made by the labor exchanges, the reports of these exchanges neverthe- less indicate, probably with a fair degree of accuracy, the tend- ency to exhaust the supply of male labor by military service and the extent to which women workers have supplied the lack of men. The number of men and women remaining on the registers of the exchanges at the end of each month is the number of persons 1 The figures for 1917 are not comparable, for they include additional "insured trades." THE DILUTION OF LABOR 145 who have registered for employment and for whom places have not as yet been found. In normal years the numbers remaining on the register fluctuate with the seasonal changes in industry, being highest in winter and lowest in midsummer. During the first half of 1914 the figures reflected this general movement, the number of men on the registers declining from 115,767 on February 13 to 85,185 on July 17, while the number of women on the registers, which had been 17,650 in February, was only 17,115 in the middle of July. 1 The disorganization of industry which followed the outbreak of the war caused a rapid increase in these figures so that on September 11, when unemployment had reached its maximum for both men and women, the numbers remaining on the registers were 148,391 men and 37,599 women. Thereafter, the figures at six months' intervals show not only the seasonal fluctuations but the extent to which the decline in the number of men avail- able is made good by the increase in the number of women seek- ing employment. NUMBERS OF MEN AND WOMEN REMAINING ON THE REGISTERS OF THE LABOR EXCHANGES AT SELECTED PERIODS, 1914-1917 Period Ending Men Women July 17, 1914 85,185 17,115 January 15, 1915 67,215 30,864 July 16, 1915 40,539 46,623 January 14, 1916 39,522 71,429 July 14, 1916 33,315 78,641 January 12, 1917 53,590 64,779 July 13, 1917 32,364 64,152 January 11, 1918 18,541 32,565 July 12, 1918 30,661 53,949 A few words of explanation seem necessary to interpret these fluctuations. After the brief period of unemployment in the late summer of 19*14, the decline in the number of men remaining on the registers is to be explained not only by the number of enlist- ments, but also by " the heavy demand for labor for munitions work, hut building, etc." The increase in the number of women, 1 Labour Gazette. 1915, p. 43. 2 Ibid., 1916, p. 48. 146 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION however, does not admit of so simple an explanation. For the latter part of 1914 and for some months in 1915 the number of women remaining on the registers represents a demand for em- ployment which met with no adequate response on the part of employers. In September, 1914, nearly a quarter of a million of women in strictly industrial occupations, were unemployed com- pared with the numbers in industry at the beginning of the war. 1 From September onwards women unskilled and industrially ill equipped, as the great majority of them were, poured into those trades, leather, tailoring, metal trades, chemicals and explosives, food trades, hosiery and the woolen and worsted industries, which had been suddenly revived by the placing of large orders by our own and the Allied governments. Be- tween September and December over 130,000 women were drawn into the ranks of industry proper, but still 80,000 unemployed women remained in spite of the net shortage of men which amounted to about a quarter of a million. 2 The contraction of women's employment had not disappeared in February, 1915, when the number of employed women in industries was still 1.5 per cent less than in the preceding July. 3 The recovery seems to have been most marked in those branches of the clothing and food trades on which the government was dependent for its supplies, such as military clothing, boots and shoes, canned and preserved foods. Unemployment was most marked in other branches of the clothing trades and was partly due to economies being practised and partly to the fact that many men were going into khaki. Women were, in increasing numbers, finding their way into the metal trades, but for this work many of the unemployed were untrained and while, in some cases, em- ployers undertook to furnish the training necessary, " in most cases time was too short, the experiment too risky and the pres- sure of business too great, for employers to become enthusiastic over such schemes." 4 Most men seem to have believed that the war would be of short duration and were therefore reluctant to undertake important readjustment plans. 1 British Association for the Advancement of Science, Draft Interim Re- port of the Conference to investigate into outlets for labor at the end of the war, p. 4. 2 Ibid., etc., p. 5. 8 Kirkaldy, Labour, Finance and the War, p. 63. 4 British Association, Draft Interim Report, p. 5. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 147 During the year 1915 and the first half of 1916 the number of men available for industry steadily declined, while the number of women offering themselves for employment steadily increased. At the labor exchanges the number of registrations for the four years was as follows : Men Women 1914 2,316,042 707,071 1915 1,512,335 1,232,891 1916 1,229,171 1,921,826 1917 1,167,864 1,893,706 WOMEN IN CLERICAL AND COMMERCIAL OCCUPATIONS Governmental efforts to substitute women for men seem to have been made at first in certain occupations in which women had already been employed and had demonstrated their abilities. A Clerical and Commercial Employment Committee was ap- pointed early in 1915 and made its report in the autumn of that year. 2 The committee said that its work was forced upon it by a realization of the fact that " a very large number of men of military age are at present engaged in clerical and commercial occupations and the certainty that most of these men will offer themselves for service with His Majesty's forces." This raised the question of finding " an adequate supply of competent sub- stitutes." The committee said that there were about 300,000 male clerks of military age in England and Wales and of these about one-half would be available for military service. The classes from which their substitutes could be drawn were as follows : (1) Men above military age and women already trained in clerical work and unemployed. (2) Lads under military age. (3) Sailors and soldiers previously employed in these occupations who are invalided out of the service. (4) Women without clerical' experience and not at present employed. At the time the committee made its report, it was believed that the first class had been so heavily drawn upon that " the number now remaining is very small." The supply of lads in many dis- i Labour Gazette, 1918, p. 48. 2Cd. 8110, 1915. 148 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION tricts was small and their utilization had the disadvantage from the standpoint of employers that the lads were rapidly attaining military age and might be lost to employers at just the time when they were beginning to be useful. Soldiers and sailors released from the service were, so far, few, but the committee urged that the authorities take steps " to release from service all invalided men as soon as it is seen that there is no reasonable prospect that they will be able to serve again in the fighting ranks." " The. bulk of the substitutes," said the report, "must be drawn from the ranks of women not at present employed." Some of the work to be done was of a routine and mechanical character, but much of it would require for its satisfactory per- formance education and capacity for responsibility and the committee believed that many women who had been educated in the secondary schools and universities, or who had had other educational advantages, were well fitted for clerical duties and would be glad to have the opportunity to render service in the national interest. The large business organizations, banks, in- surance offices, etc., were already recruiting their staffs from this class of workers. Employers were urged to give a preference to the wives and families of men on their staff who had enlisted. In spite of the fact that many women already enjoyed educa- tional advantages for such work, the committee believed and it was the opinion of employers that some training was desir- able and, in the case of the smaller business establishments where the work was of a less routine character, it was essential. A short whole time training lasting from one to two months would go some way towards familiarizing women with business routine, and enable them to adapt themselves more readily to their work and surroundings on actually entering employment. To give this training and to study local needs the committee pro- posed that in all commercial centers a local body representative of higher education and of the commerce of the district should be formed to organize the supply and training of women clerks. Steps had already been taken to accomplish this end in London, Manchester and other places, and the committee had sent a letter to the secondary education authorities throughout England THE DILUTION OF LABOR 149 and Wales to urge that such bodies be established as soon as possible and that they undertake the following tasks : (1) To ascertain the present and prospective requirements of employers in the locality, both as to number of substitutes and kind of training. (2) To organize emergency classes to give a general groundwork in com- mercial knowledge and office routine, bearing in mind the special require- ments of any important class of business peculiar to the locality. (3) To take steps to attract women of sufficient education to this class of work. (4) To compile a register of those who pass through the emergency classes with a view of getting them placed in employment. The committee reported that it had also addressed a circular to a number of commercial and professional associations asking them to call the attention of their members to the urgency of reviewing at once their position, in order that their businesses might not unduly suffer when men were called under the new recruiting scheme. Strong representation had been made to the committee, however, by important business and professional con- cerns as to the importance of retaining a sufficient nucleus of trained men to carry on the businesses which are essential to the maintenance of national commerce and finance. The committee stated that it must be made clear that the em- ployment of women under this scheme was intended to be only temporary and men replaced should be assured that their posi- tions will be kept open for them. The committee also suggested that the scale of wages payable to women should, " in so far as conditions permit," be based upon the rate of wages paid to men for similar work. 1 To what extent the increase in the number of women employed in clerical and commercial occupations was due to the efforts of the government and to what extent it is to be explained by the natural preference of the women for this work it is difficult to say. Certain it is that employers themselves, faced with the necessity of substituting women for men, preferred to begin the substitution at this point. The conditions which explain this are set forth by the report 1 Report of committee as reviewed in Labour Gazette, 1915, p. 395. 150 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION of the Conference Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science as follows: Clerical work is obviously suitable for women, and employers have had far less hesitation in introducing a greater portion of female labor in this side of their business than in the industrial side proper. The conditions of the clerical labor market, including, as it does, a great majority of clerical work- ers who belong to no trade organization, have made it easier to introduce female labor without encountering serious opposition from the trade unions concerned, than in those trades where the group of workers is smaller and the workers are more highly organized. Enlistment was exceptionally heavy, in some cases over 30 per cent, among men such as clerks whose occupation is sedentary, and, in spite of the restriction of business, the net shortage of men was soon apparent, and women, mostly young girls from school, or middle aged women from professions which have been hit by the war, were rapidly drawn in to make up the shortage. Into government departments, local au- thorities, banks, insurance and other offices, as well as ordinary business houses, women are being drawn in increasing numbers to do work previously done by men. 1 In clerical and commercial occupations, although women were oftentimes not directly substituted for men, the resemblance be- tween the work done by the two sexes was closer than it was in most industrial occupations. The failure to make direct sub- stitutions seems to have been due less to any inferiority in ability than it was to lack of training, although to a certain extent women's lack of physical strength was responsible for the change in organization. Women were employed more largely, during the first two years of the war at least, on the more mechanical side of the clerical work: typing, shorthand writing, copying and filing. It is even said that the women preferred the routine occupations. Employers who were interrogated as to the success of the women workers placed a lower estimate on the value of women as clerks than on that of men, due primarily to women's lower physical strength and inability to stand overtime. There was a general opinion that on routine work the women were better workers than men and that they were more conscientious and painstaking, although probably less accurate on the whole. In the case of ticket collecting on the railroads, where at first 1 Draft Interim Report of the Conference to investigate into outlets for labor after the war, 1915, p. 9. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 151 sight men and women appeared to be doing the same work, it was found on inquiry that the women were working shorter hours and were employed on three shifts, whereas the men were employed on two. Furthermore, the shifts of the women were arranged when the traffic was relatively light. In many of the large stores it is said that three women were required to do the work formerly done by two men. 1 INCREASED EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN INDUSTRIES ALREADY EMPLOYING WOMEN In industrial occupations the increased employment of women took place, first of all, in those lines in which women had been employed in large numbers before the war. The report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, for 1914, says that The large trades concerning women in most of which there has been an incessant increasing demand for their labor are: woolen and worsted textiles (khaki, flannel, blankets); hosiery; clothing (military tailoring and fur coat making, cap making, shirt making) ; boots and shoes and other leather articles; ordnance and ammunition; rations and jam; haversacks, kitbags, holdalls, bandoliers ; surgical dressings and bandages ; tin canisters and box making. This demand has been limited only by difficulties in (a) absorbing undue proportions of unskilled workers at a time when available skill was more needed for production than usual; (b) shortage of machines and of machine parts, e.g., hosiery needles; (c) shortage of raw material, e.g., dyes and yarn, wool at times in woolen weaving mills, khaki cloth in military tailoring. 2 The increased employment of women in these trades did not result in the replacement of men to such an extent as the figures would seem to indicate. This was largely because the increased need of war supplies was felt not only in the trades in which women had hitherto been largely employed, but in the very branches of those trades in which women were normally em- ployed under peace conditions. Thus in the tailoring trade, which in peace times normally employed about 130,000 women, there was a decline in the demand for high grade tailoring work in which men were largely employed, whereas the increased demand for military clothing took place in the medium branches of the trade in which female labor normally predominates. 1 Draft Interim Report, p. 9. 2 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1914, p. 34. 152 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION This part of the trade has drawn women and girls from its other branches and from its fringe of casual labor, as well as from other trades in which there was a surplus of female labor. It thus shows a great increase of female labor since the war which has been drawn in, not to undertake work previously done by men but merely to cope with a huge increase of orders in that branch of the trade in which a larger proportion of women than men is normally employed. Again, the cloth from which the uniform is made is not the very finest suiting and the huge demands upon the wool and worsted trade for it have resulted, as in the tailoring trade, in a larger demand for female labor compared with the demand for male labor than the trade as a whole would normally employ. The great increase of women's employment since the war in the leather trade has to a certain extent been in the lighter accoutrement branches on proc- esses normally done by women, while in the boot and shoe branch there has actually been a replacement of women by men, owing to the heavier nature of the work required in the military than in the civilian boot. 1 WOMEN IN THE MUNITIONS TRADES The second stage in the employment of women was reached when they began to be employed directly in the manufacture of munitions. In some establishments this was reached even during the first year of the war, but the great increase in the employ- ment of women came after the middle of 1915 and was directly due to government efforts following the agreement with the trade unions already referred to. The report of the Chief Factory Inspector for 1914 says that in ordnance and munitions works large numbers of girls and women have been employed who had previously never worked in a factory or workshop 2 and the committee of the British Association, in its first report made in August, 1915, says that many thousands of women had been pouring into the armament branches of the metal and engineering trades since February of that year. Up to February the metal trades as a whole had shown a contraction in the employment of women amounting to over 1,200. By July of that year, according to Mr. Lloyd George, 50,000 women were engaged in munitions branches of the metal trades and this number was between one-tenth and one-fifth the number employed in France. 1 British Association Draft Interim Report, p. 8. 2 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector, 1914, p. 33. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 153 The number of women employed in munitions work increased rapidly after the creation of the Ministry of Munitions and the establishment of new government factories. Women were for the most part engaged during " the early stages of their employ- ment on repetition work and automatic machinery involving little or no departure from the work to which they are ordinarily accustomed their work is mainly in the filling, capping and cleaning of shells, boring and drilling bombs, fuses of all kinds, English and French, and cartridge cases." l In the shell fac- tories, however, even as early as August, 1915, women were in some cases executing the entire process of shell making from start to finish, involving twenty-one operations in the case of eighteen-inch highly explosive shells and Russian three-inch shrapnel. Although most of the women were employed on repetition work, the possibility of their undertaking work of a higher order had already been demonstrated. A quotation from The Engineer of August 20, 1915, shows that women had thus early undertaken work requiring a high degree of excellence. This must be regarded, however, as an exception, for all reports seem to agree that women were mainly employed at the simpler tasks, especially during the first eighteen months of the war. Where a shortage of men required substitution it was found that boys who had already received some training were best adapted to undertake the men's work and women and girls were then em- ployed to do work which had been done by the boys. Experience brought out the fact that where a very high degree of accuracy was demanded girls could at times be employed to do such work as limit gauging and would perform the work better than the men or boys. This, it was said, was " for no other reason than that it is purely a mechanical operation and requires no judg- ment, whereas men will frequently use judgment in testing a piece of work which is inaccurate to some trifling degree." The inability of women to take up the work of skilled men during the first year of the war seems to have been mainly due, 1 Draft Interim Report, p. 47. 154 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION not to unwillingness on their part to undertake such work, but to lack of training and experience. At this time there was no lack of semi-skilled and unskilled labor, either male or female, but the absence of skilled workers created what seemed to be " an almost insuperable obstacle " to the employment of the willing but unskilled female labor. The British Association Report, made in 1915, expressed the opinion that the problem was not likely to be solved during the time of war. It was said "that women were in many industries working on processes which had previously been done only by men, but that " the extent to which this has occurred is inconsiderable." * INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN Up to this time about the only experiments in training of women for industry had been those made by the Central Com- mittee on Women's Employment. Little work of a practical nature had been accomplished, for the suggestions made by the committee had to do with the making of toys, artificial flowers, baskets, hair nets, surgical bandages and work of a decorative or ornamental character. There was no opportunity in these trades to displace men by women and the suggestion seems to have been due to a belief that in order to relieve unemployment among women it was necessary to discover new occupations for them. The British Association report for the year 1915 embodied a scheme for training women, as well as boys, in trades in which men had hitherto been employed. It called for an increase in the number of technical and trade schools which should work in close cooperation with the trades concerned and advocated a development of " part time " continuation schools, in place of evening instruction at the end of a day's work, and advocated workshop training, systematized and reduced to the shortest period compatible with efficiency. The opinion was expressed that, especially in the metal working trades, women could be successfully trained to undertake skilled work. Experiments made in some engineering shops had shown that women, within 1 Draft Interim Report, p. 7. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 155 a few days, were able to turn out accurate work and that they possessed initiative as well as manipulative dexterity. Doubtless the government was more or less influenced by these suggestions when in July, 1915, steps were taken in conjunction with the Board of Education to organize training classes for men and women who were willing to become munition workers. Close cooperation between the factories and the schools was se- cured so that students might, so far as possible, be taught in the schools to use precisely similar machines to those which were in operation in the factories. Over 25,000 persons were trained in these schools during the years 1915 and 1916 and a large pro- portion of the students were women. It was not intended to give a complete technical training; in fact the Ministry of Munitions stipulated that the course should provide not less than thirty nor more than one hundred hours instruction. It was suggested that, so far as possible, learners should be men or women who had secondary education or who had been skilled in other trades. Preference was to be given to those who Were willing to leave the town where they lived and go where there was demand for their labor. No fee was charged for the course, but each learner was required to give a written undertaking that he would work whole time in a munitions factory on the completion of his course and, if he failed to do this, the cost of his training was to be recoverable from the worker. No male student was to be accepted who was of military age. It is at once obvious that such a brief training would suffice only for the semi-skilled work in the munitions factories. It was on such work, we have observed, that women were chiefly em- ployed during the first two years of the war and their employ- ment was facilitated by the introduction of machinery which could be used in the turning out of standardized products. Stan- dardization itself was made practicable by the enormous output of the munitions factories. 1 1 How far the great use of woman's labor has been dependent on standard- ization and specialization is illustrated by the following statement from the Dilution of Labour Bulletin of March. 1918. p. 85: " fn order to render the bulk of the women's work productive rapidly, it 156 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION WOMEN EMPLOYED ON SKILLED WORK The third stage in the employment of women was reached when they began to replace men in the performance of skilled work. In some munitions establishments this took place as early as 1915 when the British Association report showed that women " are slowly undertaking processes in many trades which were previously thought just above the line of their strength and skill." Examples of such employment were chiefly in the leather, engineering and the wool and worsted trades, as well as in certain trades which had been depressed since the beginning of the war, as the cotton, pottery and printing trades. 1 While the use of women to perform skilled work was the exception this early in the war, experience in those few estab- lishments in which employers had been willing to make experi- ments in the use of women had shown that it was not lack of ability but lack of training and opportunity which was holding women back from the skilled branches of these trades. Trade union opposition and the prejudice of employers were also responsible for the failure of women to do other than mechani- cal and routine work. As early as August, 1915, it was said that in a factory engaged in the manufacture of projectiles in sizes up to those required for 4.5 inch guns, women, working under the direction and super- vision of a few expert men, were able to do " good work turned out accurately to gauge, much of the work demanding intelli- was no good attempting to teach a woman a trade but only that part of it which she was going to be employed on in fact to specialize. " This specialization was made possible in the branches of employment new to women by the war itself. " It is probable that since this war began more fuses and shells have been turned out of the engineering workshop, all practically to one pattern, than of any other complex appliances since engineering workshops began to exist. Their numbers, indeed, are comparable with those of typical repetition parts such as bolts, nuts, split pins, screws, etc. For the bulk of, the available unskilled labor, therefore, every sort of stop, jig and appliance must be introduced the job had, in short to be made fool proof. If there was a right and a wrong way of using these appliances as first made, that had to be altered until there was only one way of using them, and that the right one." 1 Draft Interim Report, 1915, p. 9. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 157 gence of a high degree and involving intricate operations." The British Association report indicated at this time that it was only the prejudice of employers and the selfishness of the trade unions which were standing in the way of serious attempts to substitute women for men on skilled work. 2 Women were said to be particularly suitable to perform the delicate work necessary for time fuses, and even the more arduous work of forging and of handling machine tools had been successfully performed by them. 3 The longer the war continued the less serious became the opposition to the introduction of women on skilled work. The prejudice of employers was broken down when one task after another was taken over by women and successfully performed by them. Only two things, it was seen, stood in the way of the substitution of women to do men's work in the manufacture of munitions. One was the lack of training necessary to enable any one to perform the most skilled operations and this was being gradually overcome by experience and by using the skilled male laborers as instructors. The other obstacle was women's lack of physical strength to perform the heavier tasks and, in part, this situation was remedied by a more careful classification of work so as to subdivide the processes and grade the labor accordingly. Mechanical devices for lifting, etc., were also introduced wherever practicable. 4 The women who have performed this skilled work have been secured, for the most part, from the ranks of those who have passed through the training schools. The more promising ones in these schools have been given further training and have thus been fitted for the more skilled tasks. An especial effort has been made, however, to train for this work disabled soldiers who have had some previous mechanical experience. The training given to the women in the technical schools and by the firms which employ them is intended to meet the needs of the situation in the smallest possible time. The short period of 1 The Engineer quoted in Draft Interim Report, p. 12. 2 Draft Interim Report, p. 12. 3 Ibid., p. 46. * Ibid., p. 10. 158 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION training intended to fit a woman for shell making does not, of course, suffice when she is intended for general engineering work. But the purpose of even the longer training is not to turn out all around skill. On the contrary, women are trained to one type of machine, which they are taught to set up accurately as well as work. Generally about six weeks instruction is necessary for this kind of work. Women with a good general education are mostly in demand and profit most by this system of education. Several of the schools allow from 15s. to 25s. per week to each woman who takes the training course. The Ministry of Munitions, in order to help firms who desire to improve the efficiency of their women workers, lends the services of demonstrator-operatives, women who are experienced in such work as machine operating, turning, drilling, tool setting, bench fitting, oxyacetylene welding, etc. These women are sent to a factory to demonstrate to the women what can be done. The Ministry is also ready to supply a nucleus of women workers to any firm which has difficulty in starting women in a new shop or new type of work. This nucleus of trained workers remains permanently in the employ- ment of the firm. 1 The experiments made during the year 1915 to utilize women to do work which hitherto had been done by men did little more than show the possibilities of such substitution. The continued withdrawal of men for military service and the need of larger and larger quantities of munitions soon left no other alternative than to make the fullest possible use of women in the manu- facturing establishments. GOVERNMENT URGES FURTHER DILUTION Following the appeal made by the Minister of Munitions to the trade unionists to permit dilution, the Home Secretary and the President of the Board of Trade early in 1916 called the attention of employers in the manufacturing industries to the situation created by the continual withdrawal of male labor for 1 Kirkaldy, Industry and Finance, pp. 68-72. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 159 military purposes and to the need of concerted action in order to maintain " in the fullest vigor the manufacturing industries which are necessary to the provision of government supplies, the support of the population and our export trade." The appeal went on to say: There is one source, and one only, from which the shortage can be made good that is, the great body of women who are at present unoccupied or engaged only in work not of an essential character. Many of these women have worked in factories and have already had an industrial training they form an asset of immense importance to the country at the present time, and every effort must be made to induce those who are able to come to the assistance of the country in this crisis. Previous training, however, is not essential ; since the outbreak of war women have given ample proof of their ability to fill up the gaps in the ranks of industry and to undertake work hitherto regarded as men's. We appeal, therefore, on behalf of the government to every employer who is finding his business threatened with diminished productivity through the loss of men, not to accept such diminution as an inevitable consequence of the war, but to make every possible effort to maintain his production by using women, whether in direct substitution for the men who have been withdrawn or by some subdivision or rearrangement of his work. 1 The government promised to give every assistance possible in bringing about this dilution, but emphasized the importance of the employer taking the initiative in reviewing the organization of his works in order " to ascertain how it is possible by re- arrangement of work and other measures profitably to employ, as temporary substitutes, as large a number of women workers as possible." It was admitted that the employer would have some difficulties in arranging for conditions of work suitable to women or complying with the requirements of the Factory Acts, but it was asserted that in many industries these difficulties had been overcome as a result of discussion between employers and the factory inspectors. Employers were urged to make their wants for women labor known through the local labor exchanges and to give the fullest possible details as to the classes of work and the qualifications required. Governmental assistance in bringing about dilution came from several sources : 1 Labour Gazette, 1916, p. 83. 160 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION The factory inspectors, as already mentioned, held con- ferences with employers in nonmunitions as well as in munitions industries to further the introduction of women to perform work formerly reserved for men. 1 (2) After the creation of the Ministry of Munitions in June, 1915, a labor supply department was created whose func- tions were to supply labor of the character and amount required wherever needed and to carry out the policy of dilution. For the purpose of organizing the manufacture of munitions nearly the whole of Great Britain had been divided into forty-three districts and in August, 1915, the Minister of Munitions appointed three commissioners in each district to promote dilution. It was the business of these officials to proceed from establishment to estab- lishment within their respective districts to discover the employer's need for labor and to work out with him a plan whereby unskilled labor and especially women could be. utilized in place of or to supplement skilled men. (3) To assist employers in determining where women could be used to advantage, the Ministry of Munitions issued in the early part of 1916 a book entitled Notes on the Em- ployment of Women on Munitions of War, with an Appendix on the Training of Munition Workers. This book was filled with a description of processes on which women had been employed together with pictures of women performing these processes. Employers were urged to make inquiries from time to time of the labor officers in their districts as to new processes on which it had been found that women could be successfully employed. NUMBERS AND PROPORTION OF WOMEN EMPLOYED IN MUNI- TIONS WORK By these means and others dilution proceeded so successfully that in February, 1917, in the various government establishments 1 Report of Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1915, p. 13 ; 1916, p. 3. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 161 the following were the number and proportion of females em- ployed in the manufacture of munitions. Total Number Percentage of Group of Female Employes Employes National shell factories 18,500 62 National projectile factories 52,000 46 National filling factories 77,000 79 National factories (high explosives and propel- lants) 23,000 48 Other government factories (miscellaneous muni- nitions) 2,500 40 In addition to these government owned establishments there were on January 30, 1917, 4,285 " controlled establishments," 3,934 of which reported in February that they were employing 1,752,381 persons, of whom 21 per cent were females and over 11 per cent were boys under 18 years of age. 1 The proportion of women employed in these various munitions establishments has greatly increased within the last year although no later figures are available which are comparable with those just given. The Labour Gazette in reviewing the extension of employment of women during the first three years of the war reported that while " the number of women engaged in making munitions can not be stated exactly, it is believed that about 670,000 are employed on munition work, whilst 632,000 are engaged in other government work such as the manufacture of clothing and food for the troops." 2 The number of women employed in the metal and chemical trades grew from 210,000 in July, 1914, to 616,000 in July, 1917, and while not all of these women were engaged in the manufacture of munitions, the majority were so employed. Furthermore, these figures did not include government owned establishments, where 204,000 women were employed in July, 1917, as compared to 2,000 three years before. 3 1 Memorandum (manuscript) on the organization and work of the Minis- try of Munitions of War. April 19. 1917. 2 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 395. By October. 1917, these figures had been raised to 700,000 and 650,000 respectively (Labour Gasette, 1918, p. 49). *Ibid. 162 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION Mr. H. \V. Garrod of the Special Mission from the British Ministry of Munitions to the United States in November, 1917, reported that 80 per cent of the munitions work was at that time being carried on by women. 1 Since March 31, 1917, all contracts for shells have been let on the condition that 80 per cent of the employes must be women when work on shells from two and three-quarters to four and one-half inches is being performed, and on larger shells the instructions of the Labor Supply Department as to the proportion of women and semi- skilled male labor must be followed. 2 In April, 1918, Mr. Winston Churchill said that 750,000 women were employed in the British munitions factories and that 90 per cent of the work was performed by them. EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN NONMUNITIONS WORK During the first two years of the war, government efforts to dilute labor were mainly limited to the munition industries, although by March, 1916, as we have observed, an appeal was issued to manufacturers by the Home Secretary and the President of the Board of Trade to take concerted action in the way of hiring " women unoccupied or engaged only in work not of an essential character" to make good "the loss of labor caused by withdrawal of men for the forces." 3 The Treasury agreement with the trade unions made in March, 1915, provided for dilution of labor in connection with pro- duction for war purposes only, and the sections of the Munitions Acts of 1915 and 1916 which deal with dilution likewise relate only to the manufacture of munitions, though, as we have seen, the term munitions was given a very broad interpretation by the appeal tribunals. Such increase in the employment of women as took place in other than the munitions industries during the first two years of the war was made with govern- 1 Andrews and Hobbs : Economic Effects of the War upon Women and Children in Great Britain, p. 38. (Preliminary Economic Studies of the War issued by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1918.) 2 Ibid., p. 54. 3 Labour Gazette, 1916, p. 83. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 163 ment encouragement, but without such direct government inter- vention as took place in the industries directly engaged on war work. In those industries in which the laborers were well organized, dilution took place usually as a result of agreements made by employers with the unions. These conferences were frequently called at the request of the Army Council which urged that as many men as possible be released for the army. The initiative was usually taken by the Home Office, whose factory inspectors participated in the conference. During the year 1915 agreements to allow women to undertake work hitherto carried on by men were made in the cotton, hosiery, leather, woolen and worsted, silk and felt hat, printing, bleaching and dyeing, wood- working, biscuit, pastry baking, wholesale clothing, boot making, earthenware and china trades. During 1916 further agreements were made in some of these trades and there was an extension of the trades conferences to the lace, hosiery, finishing, silver plate and cutlery and brush making industries. 1 Much opposition to dilution in these industries was shown by the trade unionists and agreements were only reached after promises had been- made that women should be employed on " men's work " during the war period only and that the men who had left these industries to undertake military service should have their places kept open for them on their return. Women were to be employed only on work which " they were physically fit to perform " and were to be paid the same rates of wages as had been paid to men when performing similar work. An im- portant item in the agreement reached with the union in the leather industry was that the local trade union officials were to be consulted whenever it was thought advisable to substitute women for men. 2 Many of the nonmunition industries were those in which women were most largely employed prior to the outbreak of the war and it was therefore natural that as soon as they had recovered from the first shock of the war and had entered upon 1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1916, p. 3. 2 British Association Report, Credit, Industry and the War, p. 151. 1C4 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION a period of great activity they should have added to the number of women employes. Between December, 1914, and July, 1915, it is estimated that there was an increase of " nearly 150,000 " in the number of women employed in the nonmunitions indus- tries as compared to an increase in the munitions trades of only 39,000.* After July, 1915, the preference of women for the munitions industries became very marked. There was only a slight increase in the number of women in the nonmunitions trades during the year ending July, 1916, and during the next half year there was an actual decrease in the number of women employed in industries other than the metal and chemical trades. The decrease was greatest in the textile trades (32,000) and the clothing trades (11,000), 2 precisely those industries in which women have normally t>een most largely employed. It was thought at the time that the decline in the number of women employed'in the above industries meant not only a decline in the demand for women's labor but an actual shortage of female labor, but since January, 1917, increased employment in the clothing trades throws some doubt on the assertion that there is any real shortage of female labor. 3 Less effort on the part of the government seems to have been needed in securing increased employment for women in other than the manufacturing industries. Women's fitness for clerical work and to serve as shop assistants (retail clerks in stores) was so obvious that employers needed little persuasion to attempt the substitution of women for men in these occupations. The report of the Committee on Clerical and Commercial Employments has already been considered. A Shops Committee, appointed at about the same time, which undertook to find out how many men could be released from the wholesale and retail stores for the army, reported in the autumn of 1915 that, except in the heavier branches of the wholesale trade, very few men needed to be retained and under the inspiration of this committee's report, many trade conferences were held in London and throughout the 1 Labour Gazette, 1917, p. 395. 2 Ibid., p. 125. 8 Ibid., p. 275. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 165 country at which those present agreed to do everything possible " to substitute women for men." 1 In the railway service there has been a very great extension in the employment of women as clerks in the offices, as ticket col- lectors, carriage and engine cleaners, porters and as laborers in the shops. On the tramways of the large cities women have for some time been employed as cleaners, conductors and even as drivers. They are also largely employed in other branches of the municipal service, as 'in power stations, gas works, in parks and in road cleaning. In the government postal service the employment of women as mail carriers and in other capacities has become one of the familiar incidents of the war. Considerable substitution of women for men has taken place in grain milling, sugar refining, brewing and in sawmilling. Even in building, mining and quarrying it is said that women have replaced men, although " only in comparatively small numbers." 2 The very novelty of women's appearance in these trades, some of which seem entirely unsuited to their character and capacity, has doubtless caused an exaggerated idea as to the extent to which women have replaced men in industry. The year 1917 has seen further extensions of the employment of women in new industries although it has also shown, accord- ing to the report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, " a quiet dropping off from processes not found practically adaptable for women." The mainly new industries "into which women have found their way during the year include ship and marine engi- neering yards, blast furnace and forge work, copper works, spelter construction work for factories, airdromes, large elec- trical stations, maintenance work in gas work's and in certain occupations in breweries. The extent to which the women are being substituted for men is further illustrated by this same report, which mentions a cement works run almost entirely w r ith women's labor, " the only men remaining being foremen, engi- neers and rotary kilnmen," and " a large tobacco factory in 1 Andrews and Hobbs, op. cit., pp. 62-63. 2 Labour Gazette, October, 1916, p. 357. 166 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION which a staff of women mechanics do the running, repairs, oiling and setting all the machines." The inspectors report that the relatively few failures of women's work seem to be due to " (a) insufficient care in selec- tion of appropriate women for the kind of work needed; (b) insufficient care in instruction and training so as to make the women really efficient, or in gradually accustoming them to new and heavy work; (c) insufficient care or understanding in adapt- ing and organizing to women's needs the conditions and methods of work; (d) opposition on the part of men workers, leading in a very few cases to positive obstruction of the women in doing or learning their work." The first two are said to be the main hindrances and the last mentioned the least. The Chief Inspector's report calls attention to the fact that the possibility of rapid extension of the substitution of women for men depends in large degree on the extent of use of modern plant, machinery and labor saving appliances. Factories with up to date construction and equipment have found relatively little difficulty in releasing men for military service. The possibility of substitution has also depended in no small degree on the willingness of employers to introduce welfare work, which the inspectors report is rapidly finding its way into not only new establishments but into those in which women have long been employed. 1 WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE Many efforts have been made to increase the employment of women in agriculture, but these have had only a partial success, if we are to judge by the official estimates. As late as December, 1916, it was admitted that " the progress has been slow and is in no way commensurate with that achieved in industrial and com- mercial occupations." The obstacles were said to be prejudice on the part of the farmers, reluctance on the part of the women, insufficiency of housing accommodations and low wages. 2 1 Special report appended to annual report of Chief Inspector of Factones for 1917, Labour Gazette, 1918, pp. 305-306. 2 Labour Gazette, 1916, p. 447. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 167 To overcome these obstacles a campaign of propaganda was instituted in the spring of 1915 by the Board of Trade and the Board of Agriculture. Women's county war agricultural com- mittees were formed to carry on the propaganda, to register women willing to undertake farm work and to arrange to place them on the land. Sixty-three such committees had been formed by the end of the year 1916 and these committees in turn worked through village registrars, 4,000 in number. Meet- ings were held to arouse enthusiasm and to explain to women the need for their services. The meetings were followed by a house to house canvass and the names of those women willing to work whole or part time were entered on the village register. The registrar then cooperated with the nearest employment exchange in endeavoring to place these women on the land. About 140,000 women registered for agricultural service, but not all could be placed for the reasons given above. A list of the occupations in which women were engaged in agricultural work in various parts of the country includes 20 classes of work with eight subclasses under general farm work and five under gardening. The report on their activities claims that while the experience gained during the war shows that some women " can do anything and everything on the land and do it well," the average woman is useful chiefly in the following occupations: general farm work, milking, stock tending and rearing, butter making, cheese making, poultry rearing, hay making, fruit picking, hop picking and gardening. They were said to be especially successful in milking and in tending and rearing stock. 1 In a few cases women had been given short courses of training in milking, general farm work and garden- ing and one of the notable successes reported was the plan of having " organized gangs of women, working under a leader, who visited farms in rotation, undertaking jobs at piece work rates." * The efforts made during the year 1916 to substitute women for men on the farms were generally held to be successful in England, especially in the eastern and southeastern counties, 1 Labour Gazette, 1916, p. 448. 168 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION where a considerable increase in the number of women engaged in farm work at the beginning of the war was shown. In Scot- land and Wales, however, the efforts were not sufficient to pre- vent an absolute decline in the number of women engaged in agriculture, owing to the migration of women to munition estab- lishments and other places of work where higher wages were offered. 1 Further efforts to increase the number of women engaged in agricultural occupations took place during 1917, but they do not appear to have been generally successful, if we are to judge by the figures given, which show that there was an increase dur- ing the year ending July, 1917, of only 3,000 women employed as permanent laborers, while among women employed as casual laborers there was an actual decrease. The need of women for munition plants and in industry and commerce, generally, had become so urgent and the inducements offered were so much greater than those offered on the farms that relatively few women were attracted to the latter. STATISTICS OF EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN The following table shows the effect of the first three and one half years of the war in extending the employment of women in the various occupational groups in Great Britain, as far as this can be shown by official estimates. No estimates were prepared for the year ending July, 1915, and comparison must therefore be limited to the rate of growth between July, 1916, and July, 1917, as compared to the two year period ending in July, 1916. 1 Labour Gazette, 1916, p. 448. THE DILUTION OF LABOR 169 w DC H o 3 Q H I M w o w o u, o H u > s cu w b O z o 00 U H X U9U1OM Xq JO JU9U1 o o 8 8 9161 'Xjenuef Xo[ jo S3[EUi3} JO -uinu 9)euii 9161 'Xin| pa. o &* o oo TH> CM oo ^H cvi IS CM > O rt to CM to t>. lOO fM O c\T ^* oC O O OO O Nproopr>. o' i< co \d o ON CM f*5 d g < VO TfOO ON iill i i )0 ;8 "o" in C ' C'S o *! S* C e a reit- eration of the position of the state socialists, but a more careful study of the statement, especially when taken in connection with other parts of the program, seems to warrant the belief that while the industrial program is socialistic, it is not necessarily state socialism which is demanded. Municipal ownership of the means of production of public enterprises in accordance with the Fabian socialists' plan is elsewhere declared to be in accordance with their program. Furthermore, it is by no means certain that they would not accept as coming within their plan, the. cooperative ownership of most industrial enterprises by the workers em- ployed therein. There is furthermore no demand for the aboli- tion of interest or even of private profits. Only profiteering is condemned. The party program does, however, demand the nationalization of the great public utilities, the railroads, canals and even the great steamship lines. Furthermore, it lays great emphasis on the advantages which will come from cheap power, light and heating when the coal mines and the sources of electric power are nationalized. Nor does its program of nationalization stop at these great industries. Life insurance must be made a govern- ment function in order to put an end to the " profit making industrial insurance companies, which now so tyrannously ex- ploit the people with their wasteful house to house industrial life assurance." The Labor party would promote temperance reform by taking the manufacture and retailing of liquor out of the hands of those " who find profit in promoting the utmost possible consumption." Having created a government liquor monopoly the party would grant local option with regard to its sale or prohibition and the regulation of the traffic. Municipal socialism should extend not only to the municipal public service industries, such as water, gas, electricity and the 314 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION tramways, but should include housing and town planning, public libraries, the organization of recreation, and the coal and milk in- dustries, where these are not organized by a cooperative society. The program would have the experience gained during the war by the government in its assumption of the control of the importation of " wheat, wool, metals and other commodities " and its control of the " shipping, woolen, leather, clothing, boot and shoe, milling, baking, butchering and other industries put to good use by keeping these indispensable industries out of the hands of the monopolist trusts. The centralized purchase of raw material and the public rationing of this material to the several establishments, the public accounting and auditing to stop waste and put an end to the "mechanical inefficiency of the more backward firms " are advantages which ought not to be surrendered. Price fixing for standardized products should continue. This question of the retail prices of household commodities is emphatically the most practical of all political issues to the woman elector. ... It is, so the Labor party holds, just as much the function of government, and just as necessary a part of the democratic regulation of industry, to safeguard the interests of the community as a whole, and those of all grades and sec- tions of private consumers in the matter of prices, as it is by the Factory and Trade Board Acts to protect the rights of the wage earning producers in the matter of wages, hours of labor and sanitation. The Labor party's financial program calls for the " direct taxa- tion of incomes above the necessary cost of family maintenance, and, for the requisite effort to pay off the national debt, to the direct taxation of private fortunes both during life and at death." It favors progressive taxation on a scale of graduation " rising from a penny in the pound on the smallest assessable income up to sixteen or even nineteen shillings in the pound on the highest income of the millionaires." The death duties should be re- graduated and greatly increased and in this connection it is said: We need, in fact, completely to reverse our point of view, and to re- arrange the whole taxation of inheritance from the standpoint of asking what is the maximum amount that any rich man should be permitted at INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 315 death to divert, by his will, from the national exchequer which should normally be the heir to all private riches in excess of a quite moderate amount by way of family provision. But the most radical of all the financial proposals and yet it is one which has had the support of other than radicals is the demand that the national debt be promptly paid off by means of a special capital levy, chargeable like the death duties on all property at " rates very steeply graduated so as to take only a small contribution from the little people and a very much larger percentage from the millionaires." The fourth pillar of the house which Labor proposes to erect is the appropriation to the common good of the economic sur- plus " the riches of our mines, the rental value of the lands superior to the margin of cultivation, the extra profits of the fortunate capitalists, even the material outcome of scientific dis- coveries " which has hitherto gone to individual proprietors and then been devoted very largely to " senseless luxury." This sur- plus is to l^e appropriated by nationalization, municipalization and by steeply graduated taxation, and is to be used for public provision for the sick and infirm, for the aged and those disabled by accident, for education, recreation, public improvements of all kinds, and for greatly increased provisions for scientific in- vestigation and original research in every branch of knowledge, and for music, literature and fine art. It is this insistence upon the importance of education and the advancement of culture which shows the effect of the inclusion of the " intellectuals " within the Labor party and which doubtless accounts in large part for the quality of its leadership. Other items in the program of the Labor party are a repudia- tion of the imperialism that seeks to dominate other races, local autonomy for the various parts of the British Empire and demo- cratic self-government wherever possible. The party favors an " imperial council representing all constituents of the Britannic alliance," but only to make recommendations for the simul- taneous consideration of the autonomous local legislatures. The party objects to an " economic war" and seeks "no increase of territory." It stands for a universal league of nations and for 316 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION the settlement of all international disputes by an international council of nations. Some of these political aims are set forth at greater length in the War Aims of the British Labour Party, an equally notable document published within a few weeks of the issue of this program. As already mentioned this draft report on reconstruction entitled Labour and the New Social Order was referred for con- sideration to the June, 1918, conference of the party. The Resolutions on Reconstruction 1 which were there adopted differ widely in their wording from the more stately language of the earlier document, yet there is much in common in the sub- stance of the two proposals. The later platform is more specific in regard to many points and less so in regard to others. It is less radical in its financial program. There is no demand for a levy on capital and no insistence that the national debt shall be paid off. The demands for graduated taxation are not so extreme and little is said about the distribution of the social surplus. On the other hand, more is said about political and constitutional reforms, including home rule for Ireland, and especial attention is given to the political and economic eman- cipation of women. As one might naturally expect the demands for the promotion of scientific investigation and for the appli- cation of scientific methods to the solution of social and economic problems, which in the earlier program made so strong an appeal to the " intellectuals," found little expression in a document written mainly by trade unionists. What chance for adoption in the near future these various proposals of the British Labor party have calls for a power of political prophecy which is not claimed by the present writer. It seems to be generally admitted that if a general election comes in the near future before the war ends, the Labor party is not likely to receive a plurality of the votes cast. On the other hand, the party has undoubtedly gained rapidly in strength and if the Coalition finds itself continued as the party in charge of the gov- ernment, it may well be that the Liberal element will be willing to accede to important Labor demands in return for support of the 1 These resolutions are given in The Survey, August 3, 1918, pp. 500-504. INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 317 government program. Nor do the demands made by the Labor party seem so radical as they would have seemed to a nation which has not found itself compelled to accept a degree of socialistic control which would have seemed to most people unthinkable before the war. To the extent to which governmental regulation has succeeded, there will be a disposition to continue it. The movement for the betterment of the living conditions of the masses of the people, which had made such a good beginning in Great Britain in the years immediately preceding the war, has certainly not been weakened by what has taken place during the progress of the war. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ADULT EDUCATION The program of the British Labor party is not the only document which has been issued which calls attention to the need of industrial and social reforms in Great Britain in order that the mass of the people may share in the opportunities for a well rounded life which industrial progress and the widening of intellectual interests have presented. The Adult Education Com- mittee (under the chairmanship of the Master of Baliol), Min- istry of Reconstruction, has made an interesting report entitled Industrial and Social Conditions in Relation to Adult Education, which deserves consideration in any discussion of reconstruction. The committee found that it was impossible to consider adult education apart from the social and industrial conditions which determine largely the educational opportunities as well as the interests and general outlook of men and women. The com- mittee is convinced that there is a wide demand among adults for an education which is of a nonvocational character and it be- lieves that it is not only the wish for fuller personal development, but primarily the social purpose which inspires this desire for education. The grave problems with which the country will be confronted at the close of the war and the complexity of the social organization make it imperative that this demand for education be met. The greatest obstacle to meeting it the committee finds to be 318 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION the long hours of work. It is interesting to know that the com- mittee favors a working day of eight hours or less even though experience should not prove that this shorter working period is the one most productive from the employer's standpoint. "If the desire for maximum output can not be realized without rob- bing the human being of his opportunities for full participation in the organized life of society and its educational facilities, they (the committee) would unhesitatingly give preference to the satisfaction of the claims of the human being." But if shorter hours of work are to be looked at from this standpoint, it is obvious that the situation is not improved by the practice of overtime employment of which the committee, accordingly, dis- approves. It also is opposed to night work, which is not only detrimental to the worker, but disrupts ordinary household arrangements and prevents the use of leisure time for the women as well as for the men. As to how far monotonous work is a detriment to adult educa- tion, the committee feels uncertain. There are some who argue that work which requires no intellectual application leaves the mind of the worker free for reflection on subjects which interest him, while others contend that monotonous work dulls the mind and destroys initiative and intellectual interests. The committee concludes that monotonous work is probably bad for young workers, but that work people who already possess wide interests may not be greatly harmed by monotonous work if the hours of labor be not excessive. For heavy work, the hours of labor should be shortened to much less than eight and mechanical devices should be employed wherever possible. Unemployment, the committee says, results in physical and mental deterioration and it, therefore, believes the worker should be guaranteed some reasonable security of livelihood, either by such a reorganization of industry as will prevent fluctuations in employment or, where this is impossible, by insurance. The committee lays much stress on the importance of holidays. If a reasonable holiday without stoppage of pay were provided, it would have a beneficial effect upon the national life. Not only would those who had definite intellectual interests be able in much larger numbers than at INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 319 present to pursue them at summer schools, vacation courses, etc., but others would be provided with increased opportunities for travel and the pursuit of those things which make for enlargement of the mind, while the gain to the public health would certainly be considerable. Attention is also called to the unsatisfactory condition of the housing of the working classes. This is a matter which is closely related to the subject of the committee's consideration because as the committee says: "Housing is admitted to be essentially a woman's question, and the extent to which women will be able to play their part in public affairs is recognized [as dependent] in no small measure on an adequate scheme of housing reform." And in this connection, it is remarked that the scarcity of domestic servants will make it important that houses be designed with a view to convenience and fitted with labor saving devices, if women are to have sufficient freedom from domestic duties to share in intellectual opportunities. The committee says that in making its report, it has ap- proached the matters dealt with from " the human rather than the economic point of view," although it does not understand that there is any antagonism between the two. " Material prog- ress is of value only in so far as it assists towards the realization of human possibilities." * GOVERNMENT PLANS FOR DEMOBILIZATION In regard to one matter whose urgency was emphasized by the Labor party program, important steps have already been taken by the government. This is the formulation of plans for the de- mobilization of the military and naval forces and of the munition workers. Early in the present year (1918) the Minister of Labor established a committee to be known as the Labor Resettlement Committee, made up of employers and trade unionists in equal numbers, and on March 12, at the first meeting of the committee, the Minister set forth the work which he expected this committee to perform. He told them that he desired from them not only 1 Industrial and social conditions. Abstract of the report by the Adult Education Committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction in the Labour Gazette, 1918, pp. 347-348. 320 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION advice in regard to the plans to be adopted but assistance with the administrative work which his department would have to carry. 1 The Minister called attention to the two sets of questions with which the committee would have to deal : first, the resettlement of sailors and soldiers to civil life, and secondly the resettlement of those who had been engaged in war indus- tries. He said that in regard to the first class a subcommittee of the Reconstruction Committee had examined the matter with great care and he asked that this report be given careful con- sideration. Another committee appointed by the Ministry of Reconstruction was considering the case of the civil workers, which the Minister regarded as a more difficult question even than that of the soldiers and sailors. Among the subjects with which the committee would have to deal, the Minister said, would be the arrangements for providing out of work pay for ex-service men and others who were unem- ployed. As regards ex-service men, the government had already proposed to give a month's furlough with full pay and allowance, to be followed by a free policy of insurance against unemploy- ment, valid for a year. The amount of the benefits had not yet been determined, but it was proposed that it should be possible to draw benefits up to a total of twenty weeks in the year. The majority of the civil war workers, he said, were already insured against unemployment, but the rate of benefit (7s. a week) would have to be increased. Another question for con- sideration was the machinery to be used in carrying out de- mobilization and securing employment. The government, he said, had decided that the employment exchanges would have to be used for they constituted the only national organization capable of coping with the problem. The services of other agencies would have to be called on to assist them, especially local com- mittees of employers and employes. Arrangements had already been made for these local advisory committees and some of the committees were already at work. The Minister hoped that through the cooperation of these committees, the exchanges would ascertain the demand for labor in their respective dis- 1 Labour Gazette, 1918, pp. 92-93. INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 321 tricts and secure the cooperation of the local trade unions in meeting it. The Minister further called attention to the fact that for resettlement to succeed, the prosperity of the industries must be assured and there was a need to classify the various trades of the country according to their national importance and the im- mediate prospects of employment which they offered. This re- quired information concerning raw materials, financial facilities and employment in all the principal industries. There were questions concerning the reinstatement of soldiers, sailors and munition workers in the industries from which they had gone, the question of apprenticeship and the training of disabled men. The Minister expressed the hope that very substantial assistance in solving these problems would come from the joint industrial councils which were being set up in various industries. A committee of the Board of Trade had early in 1916 made a report on the settlement of discharged soldiers and sailors on the land in England and Wales, at which they had arrived at the conclusion that there would be a considerable demand for ex-service men in agriculture at the close of the war, not only to take the place of those who had been killed and permanently disabled but to produce the larger amount of food which it is generally estimated the nation is likely to wish to produce rather than to depend to such a large extent as in the past on foreign sources of supply. The two obstacles which the committee found in the way of attracting soldiers and sailors to the land were the low wages and the lack of suitable housing facilities. 1 The first of these obstacles seems likely to be removed by the establish- ment of the agricultural wages boards; the second is receiving the attention of the Committee on Housing of the Ministry of Reconstruction. In his address to the newly formed Resettlement Committee the Minister of Labor referred to two investigations which had already been made, one by the subcommittee of the Reconstruc- tion Committee into the matter of the resettlement of sailors and soldiers to civil life and the other with regard to the 1 Labour Gazette, 1916, pp. 238-239. 322 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION munition workers. The reports of the work of the first named committee have not been received in this country, but the " first (interim) report of the Civil War Workers' Committee" has been summarized in the Labour Gazette. 1 The recommendations of the committee, briefly stated, are as follows: (a) The govern- ment should lend its assistance to assist munition and other workers discharged on the termination of hostilities to return to their former occupations, (b) The machinery used for demobili- zation and subsequent reemployment should be the employment exchanges working with the Labor Resettlement Committee and the local advisory committees of the Ministry of Labor, (c) The advice of industries as a whole should be sought through the joint industrial councils where they exist and in other cases through the temporary trade committees being set up by the Ministry of Reconstruction, the Board of Trade and the Min- istry of Labor, acting jointly, (d) "As soon as there is a reasonable prospect of peace, the local advisory committees and the employment exchanges should take steps to ascertain where workers are likely to be required immediately on the termination of the war and what the demands of individual factories are likely to be." (e) " The registration of individual war workers should be undertaken with a view to facilitating their return to their former employment or finding fresh employment for them." This scheme should be under the Ministry of Labor, cooperating with the trade unions, (f) On government contract work, muni- tion workers should receive a fortnight's notice or a fortnight's pay in lieu of notice, (g) The departments concerned should encourage government departments, public or semi-public bodies and private employers to place postwar contracts in advance, the contracts being arranged, if need be, at provisional prices, to be adjusted later according to revised estimates of the cost of labor, materials, etc. The same steps should be taken by the department of overseas trade, (h) The government, before the end of the war, should have ready further schemes to meet the possibility of any local or general unemployment which may prove to be more than temporary. 1 " Demobilization of Civil War Workers," 1918, p. 307. INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 323 The statement is made by the Minister of Reconstruction that action is being taken in connection with some of these matters. Others will have to be considered by the government in relation to other allied questions of reconstruction. The Ministry of Reconstruction has made public the report of the committee appointed to consider the resettlement of of- ficers. In accordance with the recommendations of this com- mittee, the Ministry of Labor has established an Appointments Department intended " to provide advice and assistance to of- ficers and others requiring professional and business appoint- ments on their return to civil life. Two committees of this department have been provided, one dealing with appointments and the other with training. On the Appointment Committee will be representatives of the principal professional and business organizations. Local committees similarly constituted will be provided. The Training Committee will be an interdepartmental committee jointly appointed by the Ministry of Labor, the Board of Education and other departments, and the chairman will be nominated by the Board of Education. The universities and other educational organizations and representatives of commerce and industry will be asked to cooperate. " It has been arranged that every officer shall be provided with information as to the facilities for obtaining appointments by the department, which will therefore be in a position to bring to the notice of employers, who may have vacancies to fill, particulars of candidates from every part of the kingdom." Those candidates who have not the necessary training will be furnished with facilities for obtaining this by the Training Committee. No fees are charged either to employers or to candidates for the work of securing positions. 1 This, of course, does not apply to the work of training, which is to be done by existing schools and other agencies. LABOR READJUSTMENTS IN THE PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES Besides the work being done by the departments and com- mittees already mentioned, brief mention should be made of the 1 Labour Gasette, 1918, p. 175. 324 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION inquiries conducted by the departmental committees appointed by the Board of Trade during the year 191G to consider the posi- tion of various industries after the war, particularly with ref- erence to conditions which might exist to hamper the success of the industry in question when peace had been restored, and to suggest remedies, if any, for such conditions. These committees made their report in 1918. 1 The committee on the textile trades reported that British labor was peculiarly efficient in these industries, that the output per person was probably higher than anywhere else in the world, except perhaps the United States, that there was little restriction of output " of an habitual or organized kind, owing largely to the fact that piece work is almost universal." The committee found evidence of interference by means of trade union, and shop rules with maximum output in the subsidiary processes of the textile trades. To do away with these restrictions the com- mittee urged that the government as well as associations of em- ployers and employed endeavor to bring about a complete under- standing between labor and capital " on the basis of mutual in- terest, confidence and good feeling." In the iron and steel trades the committee found labor relations to be on a better footing in those industries in which both sides are organized to carry on collective bargaining, but such organi- zation is far from complete. A multiplicity of unions has created confusion and the committee favors bringing all labor under the authority of a single trade union and that in the trade agreements unskilled labor be provided for. Piece and tonnage rates are favored, for they tend to interest the worker in his work and also lessen the danger of restriction of output. The committee favors the eight hour day in works running continuously throughout the week. In the engineering trades employers were nearly unanimous in their complaints that the trade union rules resulted in a restriction of output below that which represents a reasonable day's work and that they compelled employers to class as skilled 1 Summaries of their reports are found in the Labour Gazette for August, 1918, pp. 306-307. INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 325 work that which in fact was unskilled. The committee believed that both allegations were well founded. The committee 'favored the establishment of piece rates or a bonus system on time rates. It considered that " in the future it will be all important that output should be encouraged to its maximum," but that the laborers must be convinced that to do this will not result in the cutting down of their best earnings. The committee felt that when peace returns it must be recognized that much work hither- to regarded as skilled must be considered to be within the scope of unskilled men and women and that where female labor can be suitably utilized no trade union rules should hamper its em- ployment. Automatic and other machinery must be freely used. In the electrical trades the committee found a need of a better understanding between employers and employed, to put an end to arbitrary restrictions of output and to the use of labor saving machinery. There are also needed improved working conditions in factories and better housing. In the shipping and shipbuilding industries the committee said little about labor conditions, but concurred with witnesses " that foreign competition after the war can not be regarded with equanimity, unless employers and employed cooperate efficiently in producing the maximum output at a reasonable price." In the coal mining industry statistics of output showed that " since 1906 there has been a decline in the yearly output per person employed at the mines." The committee considered this a very serious matter and as affecting the country's competitive power in many directions. It thought that any policy involving restriction of output should be abandoned and that the worker " should have security that if he increases his output he shall not suffer for it by any arbitrary treatment of wage rates." As a step towards securing fuller cooperation between employers and employes the committee favored the establishment by mutual consent in every mining district of joint disputes committees of employers and employes, to whom should be referred all dif- ferences which the parties at the individual collieries could not settle between themselves. It would be folly to attempt to predict to what extent the pro- 326 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION posals for reform in labor and working conditions which have been briefly surveyed in this chapter will be adopted in 'the years following the war and, if adopted, to what degree they will be successful. No doubt here, as in so many other fields of human endeavor, compromise will be the rule. It is enough to know that discussion has begun and is taking place on the basis of an understanding by all parties that the prewar conditions in in- dustry (reference is not here to the agreement to restore trade union customs) can never, and should never, be restored. That the industrial society of the future will be established on the basis of a larger participation by the laboring classes in the management and development of industrial enterprises and of better living and working conditions than have hitherto pre- vailed seems a safe prediction. That on the part of labor there must be a realization of the fact that any permanent reforms in this direction mean that high wages and good working condi- tions are dependent on large output and an economical use of materials and machinery is a proposition which requires no demonstration. There is one labor problem connected with reconstruction in Great Britain which has caused much speculation, but concerning which there is, for obvious reasons, little accurate information that is the problem of the future of women in industry. Our review of the effects of the war in causing increased employment of women has shown that up to January, 1918, the war had caused an addition of 1,446,000 women in remunerative occupations, outside domestic service and small retail establishments. How many of these women will remain in industry at the close of the war? How far will their remaining make difficult the return of men into gainful occupations? As no satisfactory answer can be given to either question at this time, all that we shall attempt to do is to call attention to certain phases of the problem which may serve to indicate the way to, at least, a partial solution. (1) Many of the women now engaged in industry will voluntarily leave it at the close of the war. Marriage, or at least the establishment of a home, has been postponed in many cases until the end of the war and will not INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 327 long be postponed after the war is over and the soldier has returned to industry. Those women (probably not many in number) who have entered industry not from necessity but purely from patriotic reasons and have continued therein until the close of the war, will also, in most cases, forsake their present occupations. (2) Many women, especially among the munition workers, who had been employed in peace time indus- tries but who, during the war, transferred to war time industries, will return to their old occupations as soon as the change in industrial demand makes this possible. (3) Some women who were formerly employed in domestic service or in small retail establishments or who were engaged in remunerative work in their homes will return to these occupations. The number who do so will depend not only on their own inclinations but also on the extent to which the war has left the wealthy and the middle classes capable of maintaining domestic establishments with hired servants to perform the work. (4) Where women have found employment in financial, commercial and professional occupa- tions suited to their strength and capacity, they will be retained in most instances, if they desire to remain. No agreement with the trade unions stands in the way of their retention and prob- ably, in most instances, employers have discovered that women can be secured at lower rates of pay than would be demanded by men for similar work. (5) In industrial establishments where employers have not entered into an understanding with the gov- ernment and the trade unions to restore the prewar conditions, including the reemployment of the former employes, and women have been employed on work suited to their strength and capacity, there seems to be no reason why such women will not be retained, in most instances, unless the men in the plants are strongly organized and make the matter of reengaging the former employes in their old positions an issue. (6) While in certain establishments, especially those engaged in engineering work, the understanding with the trade unions exists and will be kept, if necessary, by the insistence of the government, yet it must be remembered that new work will be undertaken and new machinery has been introduced which can be utilized to perform 328 BRITISH LABOR CONDITIONS AND LEGISLATION this work. Genuine differences of opinion will naturally arise as to the correct interpretation of the agreement to restore pre- war conditions. It is inconceivable that some of these differences will not be resolved in favor of the employer and of the retention of the women who have been employed to operate the new machines. (7) Finally, it must be remembered that many of the men formerly employed will never return to industry. They have giyen their lives on the battlefield or are physically in- capacitated for their former work. There must also be added to this list those who will desire to migrate to the colonies or to other countries or to engage in new enterprises. While the above categories do not dispose of all the women who have been called into gainful pursuits during the war, it is impossible to measure quantitatively the problem which the country will have to meet of reincorporating into industry the returned soldiers and sailors and of caring, at the same time, for the women who desire to retain their present positions or others equally remunerative. Much will depend upon the women themselves, the opposition which they will make to their being replaced, their organization into trade unions and their use of their new political power the suffrage. To some extent, it will also depend on the attitude of the men's unions, their willingness to accept women as members and to make the women's cause their own. INDEX Addison, Chri c topher, 294 Adult Education Committee see Educa- tion, Committee on Adult Agriculture: Workmen's Compensation Act extended to, 10; wages, 25, 188; wage boards, 196; low wages a cause of in- dustrial unrest, 263; minimum wage pro- posed, 14; established, 266; women in, 166, 168 Amalgamated Society of Engineers: Clyde strike in 1915, 65-67, 74; in 1916, 235- 236; supplemental agreement to Treas- ury Conference, 91 ; agreement with government as to exemptions, 129; agree- ment withdrawn, 238, 255; dilution of labor on private work, 238, 239 Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, 9 Arbitration: compulsory, 76, 85, 230; arbi- tration tribunal for women workers, 100, 189, 190, 191, 193; powers of Board of Trade, 109; awards not subject to ap- peal, 110; Arbitration Act, 1889, 111; provisions of Munitions Act, 111; set- tlement of wages, 199; Whitley report on, 302-303 Army reserve munitions workers, 105, 126, 130 Askwith, Sir George, 65 Atkin, Sir Richard, 89 Aves, Ernest, 13 Balfour, Arthur James, 4, 9 Barnes, G. N., 205, 244, 245, 264, 265, 283 Barrow, Eng., housing conditions, 258-259 Belgian refugees, government efforts to furnish work for, 44-48 Beveridge, W. H., 97 Billeting of Civilians Act, 1917, 224 Board of Trade see Trade, Board of Bonus see Wages Booth, Charles, 4, 240 British Association for the Advancement of Science: report on industrial unrest, 240-243; reconstruction program, 271; membership of Reconstruction Commit- tee. 272; recommendations to alleviate industrial unrest. 273-276; cooperation between employers and employed, 274- 275; organization recommended, 276 British Labor party see Labor party Central Labor Supply Committee, 181 Central Munitions Labor Supply Commit- tee, 142, 192 Chamberlain, Austen, 3 Chamberlain, Neville, 130 Chapman, Sidney, 240, 243 Churchill, Winston. 13, 148 Civil War Workers' Committee: recom- mendations for employment of demobi- lized munitions workers, 322 Clerical and Commercial Employment Com- mittee, 147 Clyde strike: in 1915, 65-67, 74; in 1916, 235-236 Clyde Workers Committee, 235-230 Coal mining industry, labor readjustment, Cole, G. D. H., 32, 78, 79 Compensation see Seamen's compensation; Workmen's compensation Conciliation and arbitration, Whitley re- port on, 302-303 Conscription, industrial: not provided for, 94, 96: volunteer plan as alternative, 96, 126; objection to, 124; a reality, 138- 139 Conscription, military, 128 Controlled establishments: 90-94; restric- tions on employment, 88; profits to be limited, 91; wages, 88, 91, 92, 100, 188, 189, 191-195; effect of munitions amendment, 1917, 92; provisions of act, 100; under regulations of Minister of Munitions, 93; number in 1917, 93-94; percentage of women in, 93; Sunday labor discontinued. 123; rules of dilu- tion, 182-183; records of changes from prewar conditions, 183: hours of labor, 213; holidays, 215; welfare work, 216, 217 Corn Production Act, 1917, 196 Cost of living: changes in, 24-25; percen- tage increase, 25; rents, 25, 202, 204; savings deposits, 26; reentry of women in industry, 71, 72; relation of wages to, 64, 194, 200-202; report of com- mittee investigating, 203-204; steps taken by Food Ministry, 204-205 Cunningham, Archdeacon, 240 Defense of the Realm Consolidation Act: amendment, 74-75; powers under, 76, 221-222; orders under, 207, 215; De- fense of the Realm Regulations, 120, 131 Demobilization: government plans, 319- 323; recommendations of Civil War Workers Committee, 322; resettlement of officers, 323 Dilution of labor: 140-184; substitution of women for men, 54, 72, 140, 144-158, 159, 160-168, 178-180, 192, 196, 197; substitutes for skilled labor. 73-74, 96- 97. 129, 130, 139, 140, 156, 157, 158, 192, 193, 198; scarcity of male sub- stitutes, 143-144; substitutes in clerical and commercial occupations, 147, 148, 150; trade union restrictions on, 92, 140; opposition of trades unions, 96, 141-142, 163, 180-1S1; recommenda- tions of Munitions Labor Supply Com- mittee, 97; Treasury agreement, 96-97, 140, 141; dilution necessary, 126; gov- 329 330 INDEX eminent assists in, 142-143; urges fur- ther dilution, 158-160; female labor available early in war, 144-147; indus- trial training for women, 154-155; by agreement with unions, 163; statistics of extension of employment of women, 168- 171; table, 169; sources of supply, women workers, 171-175; mobility of women's labor, 175-178; records of de- partures from prewar practices, 181-184; rules for controlled establishments, 182- 183; extension to private work opposed by Amalgamated Society of Engineers, 238, 239; a cause of industrial unrest, 250-251 Disputes see Trades disputes Distress committees: work of, 27, 225; ap- pointment of special committee, 42; re- port, 42-43; care of Belgian refugees, 44-48 Drink problem see Liquor problem Economist, The, 291 Education, Committee on Adult: report, 317-319 Electrical trades, labor readjustment, 325 Elswick works dispute, 70 Emergency grants, 49-52; table, 51 Emigration in relation to employment, 57- 58 Employers' associations, 29 Employers' liability, 10 Employment: irregular, cause of pauper- ism, 7; in textile trades, 23; Central Committee on Women's Employment, 43; not to 'be given Belgian refugees of military age, 45; situatjon first year of war, 54; disabled soldiers and sailors, 55-57, 227-229; committee on methods appointed, 56; report, 56-57; effect of Workmen's Compensation Act, 57; res- toration of prewar conditions, 78, 87, 92, 93, 94, 97, 183, 253, 311; of women, 98-100, 111; percentage, 146; extension of employment during war, table, 169; unskilled labor, 98-100; leaving certificates, 102, 103, 104, 105, 249, 250; Labor Party program, de- mobilized soldiers and munitions work- ers, 310-311, 322; German prisoners with British workmen, 262. See also Unemployment Employment exchanges see Labor ex- changes Engineering Employers' Federation, 68 Engineering trades: disagreement in, 68- 71; controlled establishments, 90-94; Clyde strike in 1915, 65-67, 74; in 1916, 325-326; strike in engineering in- dustry, 1918, 267-268; labor readjust- ment, 324 Engineers, Amalgamated Society of see Amalgamated Society of Engineers English industry and labor at outbreak of war, 22-31 Enlistments: restricting from essential in- dustries, 115-119; table, number and per- centage, 117 Essential industries: national service scheme, 130-135: list by Director Gen- eral of National Service, 131; pro- tected occupations list, 134-135; list of certified occupations, 136; women in, 171 Excess profits, 69, 76, 91, 93 Exemptions: under military service acts, H'7-130; canceled, 134-135; men en- titled to, 136; complaints, 255 Exports, value of, 23-24 Factories Department: overtime, 120-121; rule for protected class of labor, 122; report on hours of work, 1917, 210 Farwell, Justice, decision in Taff \ 7 ale Railway strike case, 9 Federation of British Industries, discussion on Whitley report, 289 Food, Ministry of, 204-205 Fyfe, Thomas Alexander, 87, 103 Garrod, H. W., 162 Geddes, Sir Austin, 137 Gladstone, William E., 4 Glasgow dock laborers' strike, 236 Conner, E. C. K., 240 Gosling, Harry, 240, 277 Government: efforts to relieve distress due to unemployment, 42, 44; to furnish work to Belgian refugees, 44-48; plans criticised, 48; emergency grants, 49-52; relief of disabled soldiers and sailors, 55-57; investigation of industrial unrest, 243-246; reforms to relieve, 264-267; lack of coordination between depart- ments dealing with labor, 257-258; rec- ommendations for improving, 257-258; recognition of labor demands, 269-271 Hatch, Sir Ernest, 44 Health of Munitions Workers Committee. 121, 208, 210, 213. 214, 218 Henderson, Arthur, 77, 83, 234 Holidays: economic value, 214-215, 318- 319; labor, 191, 198 Hours of labor: 31, 205-214; government control, 92. 99, 100; overtime, 120-123; scale of hours giving largest amount of production, 206; report of Health of Munitions Workers Committee, 208, 210, 211-213, 214; regulation on government work, 209; special report Factories In- spector, 210; interdepartmental commit- tee's action in regard to, 213; long hours opposed by Adult Education Com- mittee, 318. See also Holidays; Sunday labor Housing problem: contributory cause of pauperism, 6; reform acts to relieve overcrowding, 15-16; supplemented by Finance Act, 1910, 16-17; conditions and legislation. 220-224; estimated needs, 1917, 221; temporary housing, 222-223; government ownership pro- posed, 223; Billeting of Civilians Act, 224: as cause of industrial unrest, 258- 260; government scheme to relieve, 266; Adult Education Committee's report, 319 Housing and Town Planning Acts, 15-16, 221 Immigration in relation to employment conditions, 57-58 Imports, value of, 23 Industrial and Social Conditions in Rela- tion to Adult Education, 317-319 Industrial councils: recommended by Brit- ish Association, 276; 1st Whitley report on, 270-282 ; 2d Whitley report on, 295- 297; modifications on recommendations, 305-307: resemblances and differences to trade boards, 306-307 INDEX 331 Industrial disputes see Trades disputes Industrial organizations see Trades unions Industrial panic and readjustment, 32-67. See also Reconstruction Industrial training for women, 154-155 Industrial unrest: payment by results, a cause of, 200; disputes during 1914- 1915, 230, 235; South Wales coal strike, 231-234; strikes during the war, 234- 237; recent government policy concern- ing disputes, 237-240; British Associa- tion report on, 240-243; investigation by government commissions, 243-246; sum- maries of causes, 240-243, 244-246; high prices and profiteering, 246-248; opera- tion of Munitions of War Acts, 248- 254, of Military Service Acts, 254-257; housing conditions, 258-260; liquor re- strictions, 260-262; fatigue, 208, 211, 262-263; local and minor causes, 263- 264; government reforms to relieve, 264- 267 Industry and labor at outbreak of war, 22 Iron and steel trades, labor readjustment, 324 Jackson. Frederick Huth, 278 Kirkaldy, Adam Willis, 276 Labor exchanges: Labor Exchanges Act, 1909, 7; registers compared 1913, 1914, 34, 41; employment for refugees, 46, 47-48; policy to protect British labor, 46; providing substitutes, 130, 135-136; list of trades for guidance of, 131; placements of volunteers, 133; coopera- tion with National Service Department, 138; skilled vacancies filled, 144; num- ber on registers 1914, 145, 174; tables, 145, 147; disabled soldiers and sailors, 228 Labor laws and legislation: liberal labor measures, 4; Trades Disputes Act, 8-10; Workmen's compensation, 10-11; old age pensions, 11-13; minimum wage, 13-15; Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, 15; Housing, Town Planning Act, 1909, 15-16; supplemented by Finance Act, 1910, 16-17; Labor Exchange Act, 1909, 17; National Insurance Act, 1911, (part 2) unemployment, 18-19; (part 1) health insurance, 19-20. See also De- fense of the Realm Consolidation Act; Munitions of War Acts Labor, Ministry of, 177, 237 Labor organizations see Trades unions Labor party: 37, formation, 4; Munitions of War Act, 87; favors aiding disabled soldiers and sailors, 229; growth, 308; cooperation with Trades Union Congress, 308-309; reconstruction program, 308- 317; universal enforcement of national minimum, 310-312; restoration of pre- war conditions of trade unions, 311; na- tionalization of great public utilities, 313; democratic control of industry, 312- 314; municipal socialism, 313-314; gov- ernment control of certain commodities, 314; price fixing for standardized prod- ucts, 314; financial program, 314-315; surplus wealth for the common good, 315; political aims, 315-316; later pro- gram of June, 1918, 316-317; informal reply of Prime Minister to Manchester resolutions, 270-271 Labor readjustments see Readjustments; Reconstruction Labor Resettlement Committee, 320-322 Labour and the New Social Order. 308- 317 Labour Gazette, 52, 54, 61, 186, 187, 322 Labour in War Time, 32 Labour Year Book, 62, 69 Lancashire cotton mills strike, 236 Leaving certificates, 102-105, 249, 250 Liberal party, 4 Liquor problem: lost time due to drink, 81-83; restrictions as cause of industrial unrest, 260-262; program of Labor party, 313 Liverpool dock laborers' strike, 236 Lloyd George, David, 14, 16, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 94, 130, 140, 141, 142, 152, 191, 270 Macarthur, Mary, 97 Macassey, Lyndon, 100 Military Service Acts: industrial exemp- tions under, 127-130; complaints aris- ing from operation of act, 254-257; ex- emption of skilled laborers, 255; schedule of protected occupations, 255-256; minor causes of complaint, 256-257; recruit- ing transferred to the National Service Commission to relieve complaint, 265- 266 Minimum wage: legislation, 13-15; for men, 188; women, 191; private indus- tries, 196; agriculture, 266; program of Labor party, 310 Mobility of labor: 94, 139; restrictions on, 101-105; leaving certificates, 102-105 Munitions, Ministry of: creation and pol- icy, 84-85; munitions bill passed, July 2, 1915, 85; provisions regulating con- trolled establishments, 91-93; powers, 88, 99, 100, 104, 180; exemotion cer- tificates, 103; regulation of employment of released army men, 105; arbitration tribunals, 110, 111; lends women dem- onstrator-operatives, 158; expenditures, 222; temporary housing, 222, 223; Welfare Department established, 217; scope of work, 218, 219, 220; Central Labor Supply Committee to advise, 181; recording changes prewar practice, 182; orders affecting wages, 189, 190-192, 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 199; hours of labor, 213; holidays, 215 Munitions of War Acts: 67; Act of 1915, 70, 79, 86, 97, 111, 141, 162, 180; criticized, 86; abstract of provisions, 87- 89; meaning of " munitions work," 89- 90; dilution of labor, 97, 141, 250-251; extended to private work, 183, 238, 239; amendment abandoned, 184, 239; re- strictions on mobility of labor, 101-102; penalties provided by act, 108-109; wage regulation, 188; settlement of dis- putes, 109-112, 230; operation of act, 248-254; complaints arising from, 249; leaving certificates, 250; failure to re- cord changes of practice, 251 ; inequality of earnings as between skilled and un- skilled, 251-252; inability or unwilling- ness to restore prewar conditions, 253; arbitrary or unsatisfactory action of mu- nitions tribunals and delay in securing settlements, 253-254; amendments of act, 1916, 86, 98, 99, 108, 111, 162, 332 INDEX 189, 190. 197; amendments of act, 1917, 86, 92, 100, 112, 199, 265 Munitions trades: war bonus, 60; profits limited, 69, 91; acceleration of produc- tion, 75, 76; local munitions commit- tees, 79; proposals before conference of trade unions leaders representing, 85; controlled establishments, 88, 90-94, 100, 140; wage regulation, 189-190; of women, 190-197; of men, 197-200; changes in wages, 185, 194; meaning of munitions work, 89-90; munitions volun- teers 94-96, 104, 124, 126, 213; as alternative for conscription, 96; govern- ment orders relating to skilled labor, 98; army reserve munitions workers, 105, 106, 118, 126; overtime, 122, 123, 208; appeals for volunteers, 124, 126; com- pulsory registration, 126-127; restricted occupations and essential industries, 131; release of workers for military and naval service, 134; women in, 152-154, 160- 162; table of numbers and proportion, 161 ; sources of supply of women work- ers, 171, 172, 175; recruited from non- industrial areas, 177; training classes for workers, 155, 157, 158; replacement of men by women, 178, 179; orders re- lating to health and efficiency of workers, 208; to hours of labor, 213; to holidays, 215; welfare work, 216, 217; Welfare Department, 217, 218; housing condi- tions in munitions centers, 221; un- employment insurance, 226-227; em- ployment of demobilized workers, 322 Munitions tribunals: 103, 104; general, 106; local, 107; provisions of amended munitions act, 1916, 108, 109 Murray, Sir George, 56 National Insurance Act, part 2, unemploy- ment, 7, 35, 49; part 1, health insur- ance, 19-20; emergency grants under, 49-52 National Labor Advisory Committee, 84, 181 National Registration Act, 1915, 126-127 National service: compulsory registration, 126-127; government scheme, 130-134; reasons for failure, 132; efforts to amend scheme, 132-134; new plan, 136- 138; appeal for volunteers, 131; num- ber enrolled and placed, 133; outline for enrolling, 137, 138; Ministry of Na- tional Service, 131, 132, 133; report of select committee on national expendi- ture, 133; employment exchanges, 135- 136; industrial conscription, 138-139 National Service Department, 133, 134- 136 National Service, Ministry of, 131, 132, 138 Newman, Sir George, 208 Occupations: essential industries, 130-135; list of restricted, 131; list of protected, 134-135; list of certified, 136; table, analvsis nrewar occupations of women workers, 173 Old age pensions: beginning of aeitation, 11; law enacted August 1, 1908, 12; provisions of act, 12; advance estimate of number applying, 12; additional al- lowance during war, 12-13 Overtime work: 98; acts regulating, 119- 120; orders permitting, 120, 122, 123; rates for, 191; holiday work, 191; rate of pay, 198; effect on women, 205, 206, 207; Sunday labor, 191, 208, 209, 210, 212; overtime preferable to, 209; strain counteracted by increased pay, 212; ob- jections to, 211; overtime should be concentrated, 212; economically ex- travagant, 213; opposed by Adult Edu- cation Committee, 318 Panic: effect of war on industry, 32; ad- vance of retail prices, 32-33; growth of unemployment, 33-35; methods of public relief, 35-36; trade disturbances less widespread than feared, 42. See also Readjustment; Reconstruction _ Pauperism: tendency and public expendi- tures, 4; causes, 5-7; reduction, 26-27; percentage August, 1914, 35-36; results shown by statistics, 225 Payment by results, 92, 200 Pensions: delays in granting, 266. See also Old age pensions Pensions, Ministry of, 1916, 227 Poor Law Commission: report quoted, 4; appointed, 4-5; findings and recommenda- tions, 5-8; services of investigation and report, 8 Poor laws, administration and history, 5 Police, Factories, etc., (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 220 Prewar conditions of employment, restora- tion of see Employment Prices: wholesale, 24; retail, 24, 31, 32; changes in, 59, 60-62; table of percen- tages "above normal," 61; of food, 62; cause of industrial unrest, 246; govern- ment plans to reform, 264-265 Production: of leading commodities, 23-24; value of imports, 23; value of exports, 23-24; employers and trades unions at- tempt to agree to program, 67, 68-70; reports of Committee on Production, 71- 74 ; legislation to aid and increase, 74, 88, 92-93; effects of overtime, 206, 207, 208; output in relation to hours of la- bor, 209, 210, 211 Production, Committee on: appointment, 65; orders resumption of work in Clyde shipyards, 65-66; reports, 71; 1st, "ir- regular time keeping," 71 ; 2d, " shells and fuses and avoidance of stoppage of work," 71-72; 3d, demarcation of work, 73-74; 4th, Clyde strike, 65-67, 74; named tribunal to settle strikes, 74; to arbitrat- labor disnut"s. Treasury agree- ment, 76: work. 1915, 79, 80. 81 ; rec- ommendations, foundation Munitions of War Acts, 86; awards of war bonuses, etc., 188; right to review wage rate of women, 194; award of bonus extended, 199 Profiteering: cause of industrial unrest, 246-248; government plans to reform, 264-265 Profits, excess. 69. 76. 1. 03 Prosperity: t^sts applied to working classes. 25-26 Protected occupations list. 134-135 Public utilities nationalization, 313 Railway Servants, Amalgamated Society of see Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants INDEX 333 Readjustment: reduction of trades disputes, 36-38; recovery of employment condi- tions, 38-41; in women's trades, 41-42; government efforts to relieve distress due to unemployment, 42-44; special commit- tee appointed, 42; report, 42-44; work for Belgian refugees, 44-48; special com- mittee to investigate conditions, etc., 44; report, 44-48; criticism of governments' plans, 48-49; program of Workers' Na- tional Committee, 48-49; emergency grants, 49-52; industrial transfers of women, 52-54; disappearance of unem- ployment, 54-55; relief of disabled sol- diers and sailors, 55-57; report of Local Government Boards' Committee upon methods of employment, 55-57; emigra- gration and immigration, 57-58; changes in wage rates, 58-60; in prices, 60-62; resumption of strikes, 62-67; labor read- justment investigations, 324-325; women in industry, 326-328. See also Recon- struction Reconstruction : memorandum of advisory housing panel, 223; government recogni- tion of labor demands, 269-271 ; pro- gram of British Association, 271-276; trade union agreement, 276-279; report of Reconstruction Committee, 279-282; discussion of, 283-291 ; recommendations adopted, 292-293; Ministry of Recon- struction created, 293-294; work of, 294- 295; 2d report on industrial councils, 295-297; works committees, 297-302; conciliation and arbitration, 302-303; government takes steps to establish in- dustrial councils, 303-305; industrial councils and trade boards, 305-308; pro- gram of Labor party, 308-317; report of Committee on Adult Education, 317-319; government plans for demobilization, 319-323; labor readjustments, 323-328; Board of Trade investigations, 324-325; women, 326-328 Reconstruction Committee on Industrial Councils, 266 Reconstruction, Ministry of, 223 Relations between Employers and Em- ployed Committee, 294. See also Whit- ley report Relief work: unemployment, 17; methods of public, 35; government efforts to re- lieve distress, 42-44; work for Belgian refugees, 44-48; criticism of government plans, 48-49; emergency grants, 49-52; relief of soldiers and sailors, 55-57 Rents, 25, 202, 204 Road Board, 42; efforts for unemployed, 43-44 Rowntree, B. S., 4, 217 Runciman, Walter, 75, 76, 77, 232, 233, 234 Sailors see Soldiers and sailors Salisbury, Lord, 4 Samuel, Herbert, 42 Science, British Association for the_ Ad- vancement of see British Association for the Advancement of Science Seamen's compensation, 266 Shortage of labor: early in the war, 113- 114; of female labor, 164, 174; over- time work as cure, 119-126; effect on wages, 188; cost of living, 205 Skilled labor: wages, 25; government or- ders affecting, 98; in demand, 102; sub- stitutions for, 129, 140, 143, 144, 153- 154, 156, 157, 158; withdrawn from army and enlistment restricted, 118-119; exemptions, 129; safeguarding, 184 Social legislation, 3-21 ; findings and rec- ommendations of Poor Law Commission, 5-8; effect upon problems of the war, 20-21 Soldiers and sailors: relief of disabled, 55- 57, 227-229; pensions, 229, 266; re- leased from army as munitions workers, 105; employment and reeducation, 228; resettlement in civil life, 321; settle- ment on land, 321 South Wales coal strike, 231-234 Strikes: Taff Vale Railway strike, 9; per- centage of workers involved, 1911-1913, 30; recrudescence of, 62-64; Clyde strike, 65-67, 74; avoidance of stop- pages, 72, 74, 76; government can not prevent, 84; prohibition of, 109-112; methods for settling, 109-110; arbitra- tion, 110-111; engineering trades, 129; "silent strike," 184; South Wales coal strike, 231-234; strikes during the war, 234-237; Lancashire cotton mills strike, 236; Glasgow dock laborers' strike, 236; Liverpool dock laborers' strike, 236 Sunday work, 191, 208, 209, 210, 212 Supply and distribution of labor: transfers of women workers, 52-54, 115, 175, 176, 177, 178; obtaining labor, 69; shortage, 54; early in the war, 113-114; overtime work cure for, 119-126; transfers through employment exchanges, 114- 115; government efforts to prevent en- listments from essential industries, 115; compulsory registration for industrial purposes, 126; industrial exemptions from military service, 127-130; national service scheme, 130-134; protected oc- cupations list, 134-135; national service and employment exchanges, 135-136; new national service plan, 136-138; in- dustrial conscription, 138-139; Central Labor Supply Committee, 181 Taff Vale Railway strike, 9 Tennant, H. J., 69 Textile trades, labor readjustment, 324 Time keeping, report Committee on Pro- duction, 71 Trade, Board of: settlement of strikes, etc., 109, 110, 111, 112; estimates as to en- listments from various trades, 117; ap- peal to women for war service, 124; ex- emptions to classes of workers, 129; propaganda for women in farm work, 167; number receiving war bonus or in- creased wages, 1915, 186; munitions workers excluded from unemployment in- surance, 226; report on settlement of soldiers and sailors on land, 321; labor readjustment investigations, 324-325 Trade Boards Act, 1909, 14; amendment of 1918, 307-308 Trades boards, resemblances and differ- ences to industrial councils, 306-307 Trades disputes: industrial disputes, 29-31; reduction in trade disputes, 36-38; in- dustrial truce due to the war, 37; set- tlement 62, 112, 113; increase of, 62- 63; table, 80; serious phase of increase, 334 INDEX 80; during 1914 and 1915, 230; recent government policy concerning, 237-240. See also Arbitration; Strikes Trades Disputes Act, 1906, 8-10 Trades unions: legalized, 9; provisions, Trades Disputes Act, 10; labor and in- dustrial organizations, 27-29; increase in female membership, 28; trade union movement, 27-29; strength at outbreak of war, 28; formation of Triple Alli- ance, 1914, 28-29; relations with organ- izations of employers, 29; relation to in- dustrial disputes, 30-31 ; government emergency grants, 49-52; applications for, 51; table, 51; government and the trade unions, 68-85; disagreement in en- gineering trades, 68-71 ; speech of H. J. Tennant in House of Commons urging relaxation of rules, 69; recommendations of Productions Committee, 71-74; re- strictive rules affecting production, 71- 72; stoppage of work, 72; contractor's undertaking in behalf of, 72; demarca- tio_n of work, 73; utilization of semi- skilled and unskilled labor, 73-74; Treas- ury conference to consider output of munitions, 75; proposed agreement sub- mitted to, 76; endorsed by unions, 77; Treasury agreement, 78, 84, 86, 91, 92, 140, 141, 142, 162, 180, 181; adminis- tration of agreement, 79-81 ; membership not cause for discharge, 112; skilled craftsmen exempted from military service, 129; resistance to industrial conscription, 139; attitude toward dilution of labor, 141-142, 156, 157, 163, 180-181; oppose dilution, 141-142, 180-181; oppose women for skilled work, 156, 157; allow the substitution of women for men, 163; wage rates, 189, 196; affecting women, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195; agreements, 198; oppose systems of payments by re- sults, 200; Sunday labor, 208, 209, 210; small percentage of unemployed, 224; disabled soldiers and sailors, 229; atti- tude toward labor participation in indus- trial management, 276-279; relation of works committees to, 301-302; restora- tion of prewar conditions, 311. See also Arbitration; Strikes; Trades dis- putes Trades Unions Congress, 141, 308-309 Treasury Conference: formation and pur- pose, 75; proposals for submission, 76; endorsed by trades unions, 77; text of amended agreement, 78; press and public favorable to, 78; agreement, 84, 92, 140, 141-142, 162, 180; administration of, 79-81 ; supplemental agreement, 91 Triple Alliance of Trade Unions, 28-29 Unemployed Workmen's Act. 1015, 225 Unemployment: statistics, 22-23; work of distress committees, 26; table, 27; growth, 33-35; war office memorandum to contractors, 36: recovery of employ- ment conditions. 38-41; percentage ta- ble, insured trades. 38; trades working on war material, 39; effect of military service, 40; recovery in women's trades. 41-42; percentage table. 42: work of Road Board, 43-44; efforts to find work for Belgian refugees, 44-48; criticism of government plans, 48-49; emergency grants, 49-52; disappearance of, 54; numbers on registers, employment ex- changes, 1914-1917, 145-146; among women, 154; unemployment and its re- lief, 35-36, 42-44, 55, 221, 224-227; ex- tension of state insurance, 225-226; means of guarding against, 311-312; re- port of Committee on Adult Education, 318. See also Employment Unskilled labor, 98-100. Wages: low, contributory cause of pauper- ism, 7; Trade Boards Act, 1909, 7; trades unions disputes over, 30; changes in, 24-25, 58-59; relation to cost of liv- ing, 31; decrease in earnings, 34-35; adjustment of, 79; "war wages," 80; women and unskilled labor, 98-100; wages of men affect supply of female labor, 53; changes in rate, 58-59; war bonus, 59-60, 63, 64, 196, 199, 200; regulation by Minister of Munitions, 100; skilled workmen released from army, 118; war work volunteers, 138; extent of increases, 185-188; fluctua- tion, 186, 187; attract women to indus- try. 172; regulation, 188-190; of wom- en's, 190-197; of men's, 197-200; over- time, 191; Sunday, 191, 208, 209, 210; holiday, 191; standardization, 199; pay- ment by results, 200; agriculture, 266; low, a cause of industrial unrest, 263 War Aims of the British Labour Party, 316 War bonus see Wages War munitions volunteers, 94-96, 104, 124, 126 War Office memorandum to contractors on unemployment, 36 War Pensions Statutory Committee, 1915, 227 War work see National service Welfare work, 216-220 Whitley, J. H., 279 Whitley report: 243; 1st report on indus- trial councils and works committees, 279- 282; discussions by Northeast area, 283- 284; Northwest area, 284-285: York- shire and East Midlands area, 285-286; West Midlands area, 286; London and Southeastern area, 286; Southwest area, 287; Wales and Monmouthshire, 287- 288; Scotland, 2S8; approval of Federa- tion of British Industries, 289; extract from The Economist, 291 ; recommenda- tions adopted by government, 292-293; 2d report on industrial councils, 295- 297; works committees, 297-298; con- ciliation and arbitration, 302-303 Women: increased membership in trades unions, 28; women's trades, 41-42; Cen- tral Committee on Women's Employment constituted. 43; improved conditions, industrial transfers, 52-54: employment and remuneration, 98-100; arbitration tribunal for. 100: munitions tribunals, 103; annual to rpffister for war service, 124. 125; number enrolled, 133; pro- tected occupations, 134, 135; in clerical and commprrial occupations, 147-151; labor available early in war, 144-147; substitution for men, 54, 72, 140. 141, 144-158. 178 : 180; increased employment in ordinary lines. 151-152; in munitions trades, 72, 152-154; industrial training, 154-155; substituted for skilled labor, INDEX 335 96-97, 156-158; number and proportion in munitions work, 160-162; in non- munitions work, 162-166; in agriculture, 166-168, 175; statistics of employment, 168-171; table, 169; sources of supply for workers, 171-175; mobility of labor, 175-178; wages, 92, 99, 187, 189, 190- 197; hours of labor, 99, 206, 207. 210, 211, 212, 213, 214; overtime, 120, 201, 212; welfare work, 216-220; housing problem as related to, 319; rates of pay not equal to men's cause of industrial unrest, 197, 263; readjustment in in- dustry, 326-328 Workers' National Committee, 48, 49 " Workman " and " workmen " denned, 90 Workmen's Compensation Act, 1909, 10, 57, 266 Works committees: reports on, by Com- mittee on Relations between Employers and Employed, 281-282, 297-298; by Minister of Labor, 298; functions, 299- 301; relations to trade unions, 301-302 wrrro A 000719561 .